Alumni

Photos by David Kadlubowski GCU News Bureau GCU celebrated homecoming Saturday with a wide array of activities, including an alumni golf tournament, Breakfast with Thunder, the GCU Hall of Fame inductions, the tailgate and derby kart races, and the crowning of the homecoming king and queen during the basketball game.      

Mark Rosewaren won’t be on campus for homecoming Saturday, but he’ll be there in spirit — even though he’s on Air Force duty in Afghanistan. But what makes his story interesting is his reaction after receiving some serious GCU swag.

Hagir Elsheikh, one of five inductees into the GCU Hall of Fame on Saturday, is a domestic violence activist and TV and radio talk show host in Pennsylvania and has founded a staffing agency and a nonprofit that helps victims of violence. But long before she accomplished any of that, she had to flee the political violence in Sudan and survive domestic violence in her own life. She was an online nursing student before getting her degree in 2012, and she visit campus for the first time Saturday.

Kara Morrow is the first GCU Honors College student to be selected for a White House internship. The 2018 graduate is surrounded by exceptional students. Her sister, Kelsey, is a 2015 GCU graduate slated to complete chiropractor school in May, and her brother, Kaleb, a GCU freshman, is a National Merit Finalist and an aspiring forensic scientist.

Just a day after GCU’s music faculty hosts the All-Regional Honor Band Audition Workshop, they’ll be nestled in the University’s Recording Studio on Tuesday night for the faculty recital, “Duets.” Adjunct clarinet professor Tim Haas will perform duets with flutist Dr. Jenna Daum, oboe instructor Dr. Rachel Messing, tuba player Kevin Bock, guitarist Dr. Jonathan Crissman and alto saxophone player Dr. Scott Zimmer. Also performing will be GCU alumna Grace Baughman. “We have some major faculty here. I always love collaborating with the faculty because they’re so good,” said Haas of the concert, which starts at 7:30 p.m.

Allison Fassinger wanted to help people, but she wasn’t exactly sure how — until the GCU alumna took a trip to Kenya. It’s where she now lives and works, helping Kenya’s children at Naomi’s Village.

One of the impressive early graduates at winter commencement Friday morning was Payton Kuhnel, who needed just 2 1/2 years of college to get his Sports Management degree. But that’s only part of the story. Not only was he summa cum laude; he also worked the whole time he was on campus and already has a job in Major League Baseball.

The Canyon Worship Songwriters Showcase drew a large crowd to the Canyon 49 Grill on Monday night, and with good reason. The 13 songs featured a lot of new faces, a lot of different genres, a lot of worship and, notably, a lot of engagement by those in attendance. It evoked reminders of how much the program has grown in four years and how it continues to evolve.

To call Kevin Warren accomplished might be an understatement. The GCU Athletics Hall of Famer played college basketball at an Ivy League School before transferring to GCU to finish his undergraduate degree — his 23.3 points per game average during the 1985-86 season is fourth best in GCU basketball history. He went on to become a lawyer and run his own firm and now is the only black chief operating officer in the NFL. But Warren’s accomplishments should hardly be a surprise. He is carrying on the legacy of his parents.

Jeff Barton, a university development counselor in Gilroy, Calif., took his family to a Lopes on the Road event at San Jose State this fall and was amazed by the big turnout of Lopes fans. “None of us knew each other,” he said, “but it was really neat school spirit.”