Marissa graduated in 2006 with a BA in International Affairs/Middle Eastern Studies. After graduating, she moved to Cairo, Egypt and ultimately attended the American University in Cairo's International Language Institute, an intensive program in Arabic. Upon finishing the program, Marissa received a certificate in Advanced 2 Modern Standard Arabic and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. In Summer 2009 she attended Western Michigan University's Summer Translation Institute which included intensive courses in Arabic-English Translation, editing, and the business and theory of Translation. Marissa is now pursuing a career as a freelance translator.