Holiday Closure: GRCC will be closed Monday, Sept. 7.

MyGRCC
Menu

Student Organization 101
ThoughtfulLearning
Workshop

Student Organization 101

Student Organization 101 Student Organization 101 Workshop: Conduct, Hazing Prevention, and DAAPP ComplianceStudent organization leaders are
to
In-person

Christopher "Kit" Auner

Hi! My name is Christopher, but you can call me Kit. I’m an academic advisor for Middle College students at GRCC. My job is to help you figure out what you want to achieve and how to do it. I can help you plan for your classes, major, and career—and I’m also here to listen. If you have a question about GRCC or your education and don’t know who to ask, start with me! We can work together to find answers. Here are some things we can work on together in an advising appointment: Understanding your degree requirements Developing a personalized plan to get you to graduation or transfer Exploring majors and careers Preparing to transfer to a four-year college or university Finding and utilizing campus resources like tutoring, counseling, disability support, and more Understanding college policies Connect with Me Schedule an advising appointment through Navigate Email me at christopherauner@grcc.edu from your GRCC email address. Be sure to include: Your GRCC student ID number Your question or concern (be as specific as you can) Your major and transfer plans Help Choosing & Enrolling in Classes How to choose classes after your first semester How to choose classes using transfer tools How to choose classes using the GRCC catalog How to enroll in EN 101 with ARW 100 (and check out this video ) How to enroll in EN 101 without a co-requisite (and check out this video ) How to enroll in math with a co-requisite course How to enroll in math without a co-requisite Take the ALEKS math placement test before trying to enroll in math Degrees and Certifications BA, Drury University MA, Missouri State University Graduate Certificate, TESOL, Missouri State University MFA, University of Kansas

Sarah Escareno

Advising Resources GRCC Catalog The GRCC Catalog is a tool that houses policies and rules of the college, including the requirements for your academic program. If you're new to college at GRCC, start by looking at the most current catalog year listed, then begin exploring programs. Click the link of one that you are interested in and you can see the courses you need to take to complete the program. Plan Your Courses There are several tools to use when planning your schedule. This page lists step by step instructions and is a great place to get started.  Register for Classes After you’ve picked out potential class options, now it’s time to get registered for those classes. This page will give you step by step instructions. About Me Hi! I'm Sarah Escareno and I would love to introduce myself to you. I'm an academic advisor for Middle College, and I'm excited to get to know you! I love that my work gives me the opportunity to work alongside students as they navigate college and life. One of my favorite parts of my work is getting to know students and their stories -- sharing in their joys, passions, and successes along the way. At the heart of my work, I hope every student I meet with feels seen, heard, supported, and encouraged. I believe you don't have to know everything or have a perfect plan to move forward. Life will rarely unfold exactly the way we expect it to, and that's part of the adventure. Sometimes you just need the courage to try, the freedom to change direction, and people in your corner who will support you along the way.  Additionally, I'm endlessly curious about people and what matters to them. I love discovering what makes each student uniquely themselves -- what excites them, what they wonder about, what they are eager to learn more about, and where they want to go. I hope to inspire a sense of wonder and discovery during their college career and beyond.  I've been working in higher education since 2011, with experience in academic advising, student support and retention, registration, academic records, college policies, and teaching. These experiences have taught me a lot about how students experience college, both inside and outside of the classroom. Additionally, I hold a Masters of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Interdisciplinary Arts and Performance (all from Arizona State University). 

New Professional Development Opportunities

Registration is now open for our fall professional development sessions through the Online Center. Featured opportunities are highlighted below, offering something for a variety of interests, experience levels and professional goals. New professional development opportunities will continue to be added throughout the year, so be sure to check the Online Center regularly to see what's new. We look forward to learning with you this fall! Featured Sessions Balancing Priorities Recommended for: All GRCC employees who want to strengthen time management, organization and workload prioritization skills. Building Performance: Performance Management Training (New) Recommended for: Supervisors, managers, and employees with direct reports who are responsible for coaching, developing and evaluating staff performance. Cash Me If You Can: The Art of Reimbursements Recommended for: Employees who travel, submit expense reimbursements, manage departmental budgets or approve reimbursement requests. Unconscious Bias Recommended for: All GRCC employees committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable and respectful campus community. Practical Project Management (New) Recommended for: Employees who lead projects, coordinate initiatives, manage events or collaborate across departments. Professional Etiquette and People Skills Recommended for: All GRCC employees who interact with students, colleagues or community partners and want to enhance their professional communication and customer service skills. Show Me the Money: Faculty Edition (New) Recommended for: Faculty members seeking a better understanding of college financial processes, budgets and available financial resources. A Blueprint for Supervising Student Employees (New) Recommended for: Current and aspiring supervisors of student employees, including faculty and staff who hire, mentor or oversee student workers. Understanding FMLA and ADA for Supervisors  (New) Recommended for: Supervisors, managers, and department leaders responsible for supporting employees and navigating leave and workplace accommodation processes. These are just a few, there are also more opportunities! Visit the Online Center to register for these sessions and explore additional professional development opportunities available throughout the year.

Engaging Future Geologists to Explore the Past

Aug. 6, 2026 When you watch an Indiana Jones movie, do you find yourself wanting to go on a dig and discover something fabulous? If your answer is yes, there’s no need to head to Hollywood! Just connect with professor John VanRegenmorter of the Physical Sciences department and you’ll have many opportunities to discover. “When I came to GRCC, I found boxes upon boxes of rocks, minerals and fossils in a back room,” said professor Tari Mattox, Physical Sciences department head. “I dug around enough to find samples for the classes I was teaching, but really didn’t have the time or expertise to catalog our entire collection. When I hired John, who has a master’s degree in paleontology, he started to unpack and figure out what we had.” John notes it’s unusual for a community college to have a fossil collection of this size, which numbers more than 1,200 items. What’s even more unusual is that we have no idea where many of them came from. “As I started digging, I found boxes labeled ‘Charles Sternberg’,” professor VanRegenmorter said. “There was a famous early fossil hunter by that same name who lived and worked out west in the late 1800s. I got a forensic handwriting expert involved, and found out it was quite likely our labels had been written by Charles’ son George, also a fossil expert. So we know that a significant part of our collection is from a pioneering expert in the field.”  Pictured above: Students involved in cataloging the collection. Left to right: Cody Bennett, Ginny Stiles and Paul Kuchnicki. Sorting Out the Mystery How did those fossils come to be at GRCC? Tari and John are still digging for answers. “Charles moved to California in the 1910s and started divesting his specimens to big museums and universities around the world,” professor VanRegenmorter said. “GRCC (then GRJC) was started in 1914. Even though we can’t figure out how or who, someone must have had a connection to Charles. As a result, we ended up with this incredible Sternberg collection that includes plants, fish, turtles, dinosaurs, mosasaurs, birds and invertebrates. Some of them, such as the ichthyosaur jaw , are quite impressive. Other specimens have probably been collected by professors over time and donated to the school.” Regardless of how the fossils ended up at GRCC, Tari is grateful to John for organizing and cataloging the collection. “John invested hundreds of hours of personal time and used his relationship capital with experts around the world to figure out what we have,” professor Mattox said. “He also got students involved in sorting and cataloging the collection. Now it’s all organized and labeled, and it’s a wonderful teaching resource.” Inspiring Students Through Hands-On Exploration Tari says that working on this collection is just one of the many ways that John inspires students. “John’s greatest strength is his enthusiasm and love for the science,” professor Mattox said. “His excitement, combined with his connections, opens up so many opportunities for our students to get hands-on experience.”   John says that he wants to pay forward the opportunities he received as a young student. “During high school, I started volunteering at the Denver Museum,” professor VanRegenmorter said. “They took me out and let me do field paleontology, and I was hooked. To put your hands on something, rather than to read about it, is incredible. Being able to do that for my students is one of my main goals. I want them to have the same amazing experiences I had. I also want them to decide if they love it enough to spend weeks in the desert, baking in the sun!”   John just returned from a trip to Nebraska, where he collaborated with Dr. Cory Redman of Grand Rapids Public Museum to collect fossil samples that will be compared to a data set from Paraguay. Students often accompany him on his summer trips, and this one was no exception. In addition, he now has additional opportunities for students to help sift through and catalog what was brought back from Nebraska. “Connecting with fossils links us to the past,” professor VanRegenmorter said. “When students touch fossils, the light bulb goes on. Expressions of ‘It’s so cool to see that’ make my day! It’s why I do what I do.” Visit the Pre-Geology A.A. web page to learn more about this program and research opportunities. This article was reported by Julie Hordyk.  
Subscribe to
Transfer