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LOPES Academy alumnus Charlie Paparone works part time at the GCU Golf Course, where he tends to different jobs, such as cleaning the rental clubs.<\/p>\n LOPES Academy alumnus Charlie Paparone works part time at the GCU Golf Course, where he tends to different jobs, such as cleaning the rental clubs.<\/p>\n
Photos by Ralph Freso<\/strong><\/p>\n Charlie Paparone<\/strong> said it\u2019s his first real job.<\/p>\n \u201cI love my job. I like doing all the tasks. I like the people here, also,\u201d said Paparone, taking a break on Thursday morning at Grand Canyon University<\/a> Golf Course.<\/p>\n He leads the way down an elevator to the cart garage and a nearby room filled with rental clubs. With a wet rag, he wipes off the heads of each golf club while talking about his days at GCU\u2019s LOPES Academy at the Cardon Center, a two-year nondegree program for neurodivergent individuals to experience college life, take courses, socialize and learn about employment opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the LOPES Academy, I learned to be confident in my work,\u201d Paparone said. \u201cHelp as many customers as I can and treat customers like family.\u201d<\/p>\n Paparone, 21, is one of six LOPES Academy alumni who, by this fall, will have completed one year of employment at GCU.<\/p>\n \u201cWe help them find jobs and find confidence. The hope is maintaining employment,\u201d said program manager Courtney Patton<\/strong>. \u201cThe one-year anniversary is a sign of success for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Paparone did two internships at GCU before his program completion in the spring.<\/p>\n He says the four-hour shift of folding towels, cleaning up trash from the course, retrieving range ball buckets and other duties as assigned allow him to pocket a bit of spending money.<\/p>\n \u201cI spend it on a lot of things,\u201d he said, \u201cbut mostly on my girlfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n A job is about more than the paycheck.<\/p>\n \u201cJobs give them the opportunity to work on social skills and advocate for themselves,\u201d said Dr. Heidi Boldway<\/strong>, LOPES Academy director.<\/p>\n Thirty-two participants have completed the LOPES Academy program, and many alumni get together to catch up at monthly events, where another alumnus is employed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s fun to get together with people you don\u2019t see that often,\u201d said Kristina Lang<\/strong>, who is just starting her post-academy job of working with alumni and setting up these events.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me it\u2019s not really the money, it\u2019s more the experience,\u201d she said of her job. \u201cWith this job I\u2019m not really worried about the money, it\u2019s getting to work with a great team like Courtney. And I like coming here on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n At the July meeting, 15 alums played basketball in the Lopes Performance Center before lunch together.<\/p>\n Ray Chiago<\/strong> was there. He\u2019s becoming a familiar face on campus as a member of the first LOPES Academy class and now working for the past year at the Lopes Mart convenience store at Chaparral Hall.<\/p>\n Ray, who was diagnosed with autism, can now ride the bus to GCU by himself, and he often sits by the window, eagerly waiting for his ride while wearing his uniform, wrote mother Mary Jane Mooney in GCU Magazine.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he feels really independent now, like other grown-ups. He\u2019s proud of himself, and of course, we\u2019re proud of him,\u201d she wrote. \u201cOne time, when I was still driving him to work, we were just pulling onto campus and he goes, \u201cAh, GCU! It changed my life!\u201d<\/p>\n Chiago said he stocks a lot of beverages and chips at the store, \u201cbut I try to stay away from that stuff.\u201d He works two days a week, he said, with a \u201c36-minute break for lunch at 11:51.\u201d<\/p>\n He does admit to a fondness for hamburgers and french fries, however.<\/p>\n \u201cMy own money goes down the drain,\u201d he said. \u201cI buy model horses through a company called Breyer that makes them. I have a lot of them, but I want to get more.\u201d<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n LOPES Academy alums who have worked one-plus years at GCU: Kyle Bragelman<\/strong> and Jaden Lowery<\/strong>, Lope Shop; Chiago, Lopes Mart at Chaparral; Jaycee Herr<\/strong>, Sodexo Catering.<\/p>\n LOPES Academy alums who are approaching one-year work anniversaries this fall: Paparone, GCU Golf Course; Maggie Noren<\/strong>, GCE Media Studio.<\/p>\n Grand Canyon University senior writer\u00a0Mike Kilen\u00a0can be reached at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n Related content:<\/strong><\/p>\n GCU News:<\/strong>\u00a0LOPES Academy moms share how GCU changed their sons’ \u2013 and families’ \u2013 lives<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LopesAcademy-CharliePaparone-rf-073125-002-1024x718.jpg\")
LOPES Academy alumnus Charlie Paparone picks up range balls on a recent morning at GCU Golf Course.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LopesAcademy-Alumni-rf-072325-003-1024x915.jpg\")
LOPES Academy alumna Kristina Lang takes part in a basketball game this summer at the Lopes Performance Center during the program’s alumni gathering.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LopesAcademy-Alumni-rf-072325-001-1024x697.jpg\")
Ray Chiago (middle), with his friend and fellow LOPES Academy alumnus Lindsey Eaton (left), pose for a photo at a recent alumni gathering.<\/p>\n