GCU TODAY • 2 7
Mitchell Laird
Class of 1972
Colangelo College of Business
Mitchell Laird is owner and president of the
law firm Laird & Associates, P.C. He is also the
owner and CEO of MCL Enterprises, Inc., the
largest Burger King franchise in Arizona.
Laird has a Juris Doctor from Arizona State
University and an honorary Doctor of Law
degree from GCU for his years of service as
the University’s general counsel, president
of the Alumni Association and other roles.
He is CEO of the nonprofit Canyon Institute,
which awards grants and gifts to Christian
organizations.
Laird has testified before Congress
about Arizona immigration law and federal
immigration reform. He is on the board
of directors of the Arizona Chamber of
Commerce & Industry and a commissioner on
the Citizens Clean Elections Commission.
Dr. Timothy Sieges
Class of 1975
College of Humanities and
Social Sciences
Dr. Timothy Sieges is clinical director of
counseling ministries for Wycliffe Bible
Translators, an international mission
organization that translates and delivers
Scripture to people around the world in a
language and form they understand.
Since 1987, Sieges’ work at Wycliffe has
included counseling, consulting, leading
workshops and seminars, conducting post-
trauma debriefings and supporting the work
of international missionaries.
He holds a master’s degree in counseling
fromMontana State University and a
doctorate in counselor education from the
University of South Carolina. Sieges attributes
his passion for God’s Word, world missions
and service to Christ to his undergraduate
experience at GCU.
Dr. JamesWhite
Class of 1985
College of Theology
Dr. James White is director of Alpha and
Omega Ministries, a Phoenix-based Christian
apologetics organization.
White is an elder of the Phoenix Reformed
Baptist Church and a professor, having taught
Greek, systematic theology and various
apologetics topics.
White has written or contributed to
more than 24 books and is an accomplished
debater, having participated in more than 140
moderated public debates, in places such as
Australia, South Africa, Canada and England.
He has debated alongside leading proponents
of Roman Catholicism, Islam, Jehovah’s
Witnesses and Mormonism as well as critics
such as Bart Ehrman, John Dominic Crossan,
Marcus Borg and John Shelby Spong.
Maggie Kigen was living in western Kenya 20
years ago when she came home fromwork
one day and found a baby on her doorstep.
His mother had died during the AIDS
epidemic, and he was among many children
orphaned by the disease.
Kigen wanted to care for all of them
and felt called to start an orphanage,
Eldama Ravine Children’s Home. There
was overwhelming support and the local
government gave her the land to build
it. Today, about 30 children live in the
orphanage, and Kigen visits when she can.
Referring to her Hall of Fame honor, the
44-year-old Phoenix mother of five children
and stepchildren said, “How does this happen
with all the great people who have made so
much more of a difference than me? I count
it a blessing.”
Kigen is a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit
at Maryvale Hospital in Phoenix, where the
best part of her job is showing compassion for
people at theirmost vulnerable. She also has
workedwith homelessministries in downtown
Phoenix and at South Peoria Baptist Church.
Kigen held three jobs in college and helped
translate for GCU students fromeast Africa at
the same time as shewas raising her children.
She said shewill always be grateful to GCU for
awarding her a scholarship to help her become
a nurse.
“I came here by faith, and I had a lot of
support,” said Kigen, who plans later this
month to visit Kenya to educate nurses there.
A Heart for the World’s Children
Maggie Kigen
Classes of 2010 and 2014
College of Nursing and Health Care Professions
Hall of
Fame
Class of 2015
Watch a video about the newAlumni Hall of Fame members
a
nd read more a
