Aug. 14, 2025
Yasmina came to GRCC with a passion for science, especially biology. Then she met professor Tari Mattox and fell in love with geology. Ultimately, she chose to pursue an Associate Degree in Pre-Environmental and Sustainability Studies so she could pick and choose the pieces from geology and biology that she wanted to pull into a career.
Yasmina graduated in December of 2023 with high honors. As important as that milestone was for her, she willingly sacrificed the graduation ceremony for something even better: a four-month research project in Alaska. The program, “Scientists in Parks,” places aspiring professionals across the National Park System to contribute to natural resource management needs.
“I bumped into the Alaska opportunity and knew I had to take it,” Zimmer said. “I spent the spring and part of the summer of 2024 in Denali National Park working as a natural research assistant, monitoring the behavioral changes of animals in response to human interaction.”
After a brief break, Yasmina enrolled at University of Michigan for the winter 2025 semester. There she connected to another incredible opportunity in her field, helping to teach high school students at Earth Outreach summer camp. That’s when serendipity really started to manifest itself.
“Each year, groups of Earth Outreach campers visit the Upper Peninsula, Wyoming and Ann Arbor to explore geologically significant sites,” Zimmer said. “This year, I was one of the people who took 12 students to the Upper Peninsula. For me, the coincidence of that location was almost too much to believe. My honors project with Professor Mattox focused on the rocks from several outcrop locations we visited. I have to say, I was pretty geeked! It was a moment I’ll never forget.”
Yasmina notes that each of the young campers found something interesting during the trip.
“Most people don’t really know what geology is,” Zimmer said. “But once someone explains it and you see what’s involved, your eyes are opened to how you can use it. As one of the students with me said, ‘I don’t know if I’ll become a geologist, but at least now I know what it is.’ I know that not all these kids will become earth scientists, but it was great exposure for them, especially since they saw how excited the geologists were about it.”
From an educational perspective, Yasmina notes that GRCC gave her all the skills to take advantage of these opportunities, and many more to come.
“Tari Mattox is such a fantastic professor and so good at her job,” Zimmer said. “She helped me discover a passion for geology that I didn’t know I had. I also learned how to do research, and got the opportunity to attend a Community College Summer Fellowship program at U of M. That experience convinced me that U of M was the right place to continue my education.”
Yasmina hopes that one day, the students from Earth Summer camp will remember how important places like the Upper Peninsula are in earth’s history.
“I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to influence and educate younger people so soon in my career,” Zimmer said. “It’s just one more proof to me that I am on the right path.”
Learn more about Pre-Environmental and Sustainability Studies at GRCC.