Disney’s Aladdin, dancing, Futurama, video games, alternative music, traveling, and teaching are a few things that should come to mind when you think of Marissa Villamagna.
Villamagna, a 4-8 Grade Education major with a specialization in Math, is currently a senior at SFA. She is President of the Collegiate Middle Level Association (CMLA), Historian for Dancers Against Cancer (DAC) and volunteers for the Education department to recruit future Lumberjacks. Before becoming President of CMLA, she was the Historian for the organization.
“You know me, just taking pictures all the time!” said Villamagna cheerfully.
Dancers Against Cancer, an organization at SFA that raises money for cancer patients and research, has had a huge impact on Villamagna’s college experience.
“I don’t even know if I can convey how much it has impacted my college experience because it is my college experience,” said Villamagna. “I think that DAC stands for something so much bigger than I could ever imagine, so that’s why It is such a unique organization and why I love it so much.”
According to Villamagna, the hardest part of being a student leader is communication.
“If you don’t communicate everything really clearly people will get confused and that’s where you get problems,” said Villamagna.
The best part, she feels, is getting to represent the organizations that she feels so passionate about.
As a 4-8 Grade Education major, a question Villamagna hears often is: Why middle school? In reply, Villamagna talks about her experience as a lost and confused middle school student.
“I know what these kids will go through, and I just want to be there for [them] and help shape them into the person they are going to be,” she said before adding, “and I love the awkwardness because I’m awkward, so I can kind of relate.”
In addition to being a student leader and education major, Villamagna is also passionate about traveling. Over the summer, she took a Maymester class in China through the Education department.
“I fell in love with China as a country . . . the people, the food; the culture just draws me in,” said Villamagna.
After she graduates in May 2017, she plans to work abroad as an English teacher and apply for positions in China, Thailand, South Korea and Japan. Her ideal teaching position would be located in Nanjing, one of the cities in China she visited in the summer.
Villamagna also feels that she has changed dramatically since her freshman year at SFA.
“Before I got to college, I just fed off of other people’s personalities. I was just a mixture of my friends,” said Villamagna. “I was never really comfortable in my own skin until I got to college and now I feel like this is me and this is who I am.”
As a soon to graduate senior, Villamagna feels sad to leave the “little bubble” that is college life, but is excited for her upcoming adventures. Taking risks is also very important to her, and she urges others to do the same.
“Be adventurous in every aspect of your life. Be bold . . . take a risk by trying a new food, or actually talking to that professor that scares the crap out of [you],” she said. “If you didn’t take risks in your life you would never go anywhere and you wouldn’t grow as a person.”
One thing is for certain, as she chases her dreams into new places and continues to grow as a person, Marissa will be living in a Whole New World.
P.S. See Marissa at the Dancers Against Cancer Show this weekend, on Friday Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. and Saturday Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. in Kennedy Auditorium. Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for adults and are sold at the door!
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SFA chapter.