Antelope Intros is a recurring GCU Today feature that introduces some of our new employees to the people around them in a way that is fun and informative. Employees are eligible to be featured in the month following their orientation.
TARA SCIBONA
Job title: Discover GCU event coordinator
Job location: Main campus
What attracted you to GCU? I love the GCU community. From the moment I stepped on campus, I felt welcomed and constantly encouraged. Although people did not know me, they greeted me as if I had been here for years. It was easy to find my purpose because there was always someone or something that pointed me in the right direction.
What do you do for fun and where do you find that outlet? I’ve recently taken a huge interest in health and fitness. I love to work out during my free time, so it’s nice that GCU provides fitness facilities on and off campus.
What are you passionate about? I am extremely passionate about helping others. I want everyone to have life experiences they can remember forever. I will do whatever it takes to see someone smile and have a great time.
What are your favorite places or events in the Valley that you like to visit? My favorite place in Arizona is the Chandler/Gilbert area, especially San Tan Mountain.
Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know: My ultimate goal is to start a nonprofit organization for terminally ill pediatric patients. I hope to provide them with an environment they can visit just for fun. These kids deserve the chance to smile and enjoy themselves — it might help them cope with the pain they might be experiencing.
What are you most proud of? I am proud of the fact that I was able to graduate college in three years.
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STEVE STROZEWSKI
Job title: Online enrollment counselor, College of Nursing and Health Care Professions
Job location: Peoria
What attracted you to GCU? My background is actually in secondary education, so working with students toward their college goals is something that I have been involved with in one way or another for about a decade. Upon learning about how GCU operates and seeing it in action, my biggest question was, “Why didn’t I come here four years ago?” I suppose it’s all a part of my journey in this field.
What do you do for fun and where do you find that outlet? I like to spend as much time as possible outdoors. I am an avid hiker and camper and enjoy practicing more primitive “bush crafting” techniques in the wilderness. I have recently gotten into off-roading, so that occupies a lot of my free time these days, too. I used to participate in historical re-enacting, but time (and money) for that isn’t as abundant as it used to be.
What are you passionate about? As a teacher, my area of expertise was (and is still) history. One thing that I hate to see is the destruction, in the name of progress, of important buildings/artifacts/relics that have some sort of historical significance. Every chance I get, if I find something historically relevant in the field, I like to catalog, research and document it so that future generations might somehow benefit. No matter how minute it may be, it might tell the story of someone, something or how we once might have lived.
What are your favorite places or events in the Valley that you like to visit? Two of my favorite events are the Japanese Matsuri Festival and the Greek Festival. If it is culturally or historically significant, chances are you’ll find me there.
Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know: It often takes folks a lot of time to notice it, but I am one of the few people who have heterochromia — that is, my eyes are different colors. It would seem like an obvious thing and easy to notice, but most folks think that their own eyes are playing tricks on them. The pupils are slightly different sizes, too, which makes it even more unusual.
What are you most proud of? I am most proud of my education. Even though I am no longer teaching, I know the value of a quality education and delight in helping others find their purpose and achieve their goals.
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STACEY ELSASSER
Job title: Online full-time faculty, College of Doctoral Studies
Job location: Tempe
What attracted you to GCU? I really felt a connection to the people and the purpose of the University. I’m always looking for ways to marry my academic and Christian perspectives and have room to develop them further. I find the online platform to be an exciting avenue for learning. I love the challenge of helping students engage in their own learning within the online environment. I also was attracted to moving to the desert Southwest. I’d never lived farther west than Texas, so this seemed like a perfect opportunity for an adventure.
What do you do for fun and where do you find that outlet? Fun for me is relative to my involvement with people and places. I love participating in church work, and nothing is more fun than playing piano in a lively service or spending time in the church nursery/teaching Sunday school. I enjoy being with my friends exploring new places, like to read and am an avid moviegoer.
What are your favorite places or events in the Valley that you like to visit? I just moved here a few weeks ago, so I can’t say I have any favorite places yet. I am excited to be so close to California and Las Vegas, two places I have never been before. Because of our proximity to Los Angeles, I’m also hoping to fulfill my lifelong dream of being on a game show.
Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know: I am collector of experiences. I will do almost anything once just for the chance to say I’ve done it. My most adventurous experience involved moving to China for two years as a missionary/English teacher. Everything I thought about the world and life was turned upside down, and it was actually great preparation for going to graduate school. As a first-generation college grad, I had no idea what graduate school would be about, but I did find China to be the perfect training.
What are you most proud of? I am most proud of my continuing relationship with Jesus. It has grown and changed over the years, but it has remained constant since the age of 13. I’m also proud of the fact that I listened to God when He told me to move home and be with my parents in their waning years while they were dealing with serious illness. Even though I had to leave higher education, I did appreciate that God provided for me during that time.
