Memorial Service
Biography
Born on September 25, 1992, in San Antonio, Marissa came into the world with a personality bigger than Texas. Although she didn’t reach 10 pounds until she was six months old, she was a force to be reckoned with. When she was two, she decided that she wanted to be a cheerleader - and a farmer. And while she never quite reached farmer status (her mom refused to let her have a pig in the house) she did cheer for over 10 years, resulting in not only multiple breaks and bruises, but also lifetime lessons and friends. She worked hard, never wanted to miss a practice, even with a 103 degree fever or a broken limb, and learned that hard work paid off. Her many injuries bought her lots of time in the physical therapists office, and so she thought that was the career path she would pursue. Her parents just smiled and nodded hoping that she would come to her senses. She participated in the Ready Set Teach program at Stone Oak Elementary - through Ronald Reagan High School. She worked as a child care provider for a local church, caring for the children of people attending supports groups for addiction, abuse, children with special needs to name just a few. She would always come home, come into her parents room and act out some funny scene that had happened with one of the children. She would light up as she relayed the stories of the children that obviously captured her heart. When one day she came home and said to her mom “You know, I think I might like to teach", her parents knew that her vocation would be her passion.
She applied to Texas State University, and only Texas State. That was the way she was. She considered that the best place for her to learn her vocation, and so that was where she was going to go. Period. Whether or not she would get accepted was merely a detail. Luckily, she was accepted and went on to get her degree in education - specializing in the Special Education arena -so she could work with the kiddos that stole her heart.
During her school years, she was extremely active in her church youth group. If there was an activity, she wanted to be there. She was never afraid of hard work - and became interested in mission work at a young age. She attended work camp, where the teens would go to disadvantaged areas of the city and paint houses, she fed the homeless, did food pantry and food bank projects, served breakfast at Fischer House, and then moved on to international trips. She took off, all by herself, to Burkina Faso to spend two weeks assisting Sheltering Wings with the serious orphan problems in that area. She also traveled to Guatemala and to Kenya to help drill water wells in small communities that had no access to clean, safe drinking water. She loved getting her hands dirty, and serving others.
She took a position with the NEISD in San Antonio, serving as an ALE teacher. In this role, she served children K - 5 with a wide variety of disabilities. She loved these children fiercely, celebrating with them their victories and encouraging their continued success. It is because of her love for these sweet kiddos that TEAM Marissa was formed - to help a bright light shine through the tragedy of her loss.
