It’s hard enough to speak in front of thousands of people, but for Marissa Mayo ’16, ’18 MBA who said she has lived with a speech impediment her entire life, it was an opportunity to face an obstacle head-on and overcome her greatest fear.

A native Rhode Islander, Marissa completed her undergraduate degree in sports, entertainment, and event management at Johnson & Wales University in Providence. With graduate school always a dream, she secretly applied to JWU's MBA program and surprised her family with news of her acceptance. “As someone who maintained a 4.0 GPA in undergrad, I knew I would get in, but it was still so surreal to have it really happen; to watch one of your dreams come to fruition is an amazing experience,” she said.

There’s no doubt Marissa is a fighter. Not only has she gone to speech therapy her whole life, but she has also battled severe anxiety and mental illness. But throughout it all, she has learned to see her struggles through the prism of opportunity. Time after time, she has risen to the challenge and emerged all the better for it, and she credits the support of professors, mentors, peers, classmates, friends, co-workers, and supervisors. She said, “Growth is such an understatement. JWU has made me grow into the woman I am today.”

Congratulations, Marissa! We are honored to count you as an alum of Johnson & Wales University and the College of Online Education!

To learn more about the Johnson & Wales University’s online degrees, complete the “Request Info” form on this page or call 855-JWU-1881 or email onlineadmissions@jwu.edu.