12/06/2024
Marissa, you make us proud.
Today’s is Marissa Couch. Marissa graduated with a degree in Rhetoric in May 2020.
She is currently a high school youth minister in Johns Creek, although she found her career path was a bit untraditional due to the pandemic. Jobs were scarce, so as a way to build up experience for her resume, Marissa went to her home parish and volunteered to work as an unpaid intern in youth ministry. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Marissa had to run both the middle and high school Youth Minister programs. She did not intend that she would stay for long at her job, but she really fell in love with it.
Marissa credits her time at GCSU for growing her faith through Campus Catholics and FOCUS missionaries. She also found that her courses in Fundamentals of Public Speaking, Small Group Communication, and Communication in Organizations taught her skills that she uses daily. She felt that Dr. Downing really helped her learn how to advocate for herself and communicate her needs and accomplishments in the workplace, which was invaluable.
She is most proud of the relationships she built and the growth she witnessed in the teens she worked with over the years. “ To work in ministry is to be invited into some really vulnerable spaces in people’s lives,” Marissa stated. “There is nothing more fulfilling for me than helping a teen overcome something difficult in their life, find healing, and grow in their faith.”
Advice Marissa wants to give to current students transitioning to the business world: “The best thing you can do is to adopt the attitude of a perpetual learner. When you walk into your new job, you might be full of fresh ideas and a zeal to get started, but if you don’t take the time to learn the culture of your workplace, figure out how your boss likes to do things, or build personal relationships with your coworkers, you are severely limiting your opportunities. A little humility goes a long way - if you are adaptable, willing to compromise, and open to ideas and suggestions from others, you will be able to both learn and accomplish far more.”
