Get ready, everyone! This week’s campus cutie is an extra special one: check out Marissa Aiken, a girl with some crazy courage who can remind us all that hair is JUST hair.
Year: Sophomore.
Major: German, with a minor in Linguistics.
Relationship Status: It’s complicated.
Hometown: Mountain Home, Idaho.
Her Campus Boise State: Alright, so let’s ask the question we’re all wondering: why did you decide to shave your head?
Marissa Aiken: I saw a photo on Facebook of a woman who had beaten cancer, and she took a picture of her hair everyday as it grew back, and it was really moving. I knew I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do it. I would regret it for the rest of my life even if I did it at a later date. It was a here and now kind of thing.
HC: That’s amazing. We love your courage! So, clearly you’re pretty involved. What else do you do on campus?
MA: I’m in the German Club, and I’m an RA. I’m also in the Honors College. I’m pretty lame. I don’t really do much else.
HC: I’m not sure you can call a girl who shaves her head for cancer “lame”, besides: being a resident assistant is a lot of work and it’s a competitive job! Why did you decide to become an RA?
MA: I wanted to help provide a community where in-coming students would feel comfortable and successful, but most of all they would feel like they were home, because that was really important for me when I was a first year student. I wasn’t really comfortable living somewhere else until it was like another home. There’s a big difference between living somewhere and calling somewhere home.
HC: That’s awesome! Well your residents definitely feel comfortable around you, so it sounds like you’re doing an awesome job. Alright, when you’re not being an RA or shaving your head, where can we find you hanging out on campus?
MA: My room. Just kidding. I’m in Keiser lobby usually. I’m doing homework and hanging out with friends. I’m handing out free food. That one less often, but I think it’s a good central location where you can run into everyone.
HC: Describe yourself in one word.
MA: Bananas. Actually, not bananas. Crap! No, not that one either. Okay, so, the Germans have this really great word “sympatisch,” which doesn’t mean sympathetic, like you would think. It means friendly, but in the sense that you’re the kind of person that anyone can come and talk to and feel comfortable around. I don’t have an English word, sorry.
HC: Hey, we’re all for including foreign languages. Sometimes other languages just say it better. So, you said you were a German major. What do you want to do when you get out of college?
MA: I would love to work with my major in some way, of course, but jobs speaking German are sort of sparse. I’d love to work at a major hospice as a translator on call. I think that would be a really great service I could do. That couldn’t really be a full-time job because not a lot of people in Idaho speak German, but it’d be something interesting to do.
HC: Dang, you’re practically a modern day Mother Teresa! No pressure, or anything. Okay, last question: what’s your ideal first date?
MA: Ooooooh….I’m super nerdy, so like, I’d love to go to the zoo and the Discovery Center. Then, go have a big dinner at Texas Steakhouse, and then go see a movie, but not a horror movie: a kiddie movie. I don’t do horror.
Lightening Round!
Coke or Pepsi –> Coke.
Sunrise or sunset –> Sunset.
Salad or Big Mac –> Big Mac.
Leggings or yoga pants –> Yoga pants.
Windows or Mac –> Windows.
Well, there you have it! Thanks for chatting with us Marisa. Know a campus cutie? Want to nomiate someone? Email katiemeikle@hercampus.com and let us know!