New Face in Enrollment: Justin Grogan

Posted by Jen Hanson in admin

Justin Gorgan talking about his favorite books. Photo by Kyleigh Carter.

In October of 2015, Justin Grogan joined the SFUAD enrollment staff located in the Welcome Center on campus. Grogan attended Columbia College in Chicago, IL, where he studied and earned his MFA in poetry. There, he was active in enrollment as a student aid, giving tours and informing new and prospective students about the campus. He and his fiance hunted for a new place to settle, and were soon enraptured by the allure of Santa Fe. After a short stay in Atlanta, GA, they packed up and moved here without knowing anyone in town. Grogan and his fiance have fallen in love with Santa Fe, as many do in this land of enchantment (also jokingly referred to as ‘the land of entrapment’).

Grogan is excited, relieved and impressed by his co-workers and the SFUAD climate. “The people you work with make it or break it,” he says, and for him SFUAD surpasses his expectations. With a history in enrollment and an avid love of poetry, travel and photography, Grogan stands as the enrollment advisor for the Creative Writing and Photography departments.

The Welcome Center houses all enrollment staff. Photo by Kyleigh Carter.

Working in a climate filled with artists, “talented artists,” he says, is the best environment. Helping prospective students find a place here at SFUAD is something he strives for. He is wholeheartedly upbeat and optimistic, and finds fulfillment in aiding both current and prospective students. Recently, he backed and encouraged a local freshman high school student in taking a course at SFUAD.

With some background in adjunct teaching, Grogan would like to teach in the CW department “down the road.” For now, he’s begun writing his first book. A poet more than anything, he has an affinity for fairy tales; for throwing random objects into a magical setting.

His book, a work in progress, is a narrative poem within the fairy tale realm. He has a deep fondness for Zen and Buddhism, and minored in Mandarin Chinese in his undergraduate program. These are the elements he interacts with, explores and embraces as a writer and artist.

Grogan cites the book series Wheel of Time by James Oliver Rigney Jr. as a key in Grogan’s early life as an artist. So much so that he has a tattoo of the associated symbol of the book–a snake as the infinity symbol interlaced through the rungs of a wheel. He declined to reveal the tattoo, with good reason, as it’s on his chest. He also names Chinese Zen poet Li Bai from the Tang dynasty, as an influential writer in his life.

Nearing his sixth month at SFUAD, Grogan is eager as ever in facilitating all students in what he describes as his “kick ass job.”