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"How can I bring people together? How can I build community? How can I promote the mission of my brand?"

2017 graduate Marisa Corona focuses on questions such as these daily while working as an associate social media & PR strategist at Smith Brothers Agency in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After interning with the company during the summer before her senior year at ��������Ƶ University, Marisa was hired on full-time in March of her final semester and began working the week after graduation. She creates content for social media campaigns and works on multiple different accounts, including Primanti Brothers, MSA Safety, the Art Institutes, Nestle and UPMC. She recently celebrated her one-year work anniversary with the agency. 

"Academically, ��������Ƶ emphasizes taking advantage of opportunities to get involved."

Marisa majored in communication, specializing in advocacy media and corporate communication. Always an involved student on campus, she was Programming Board President, a class officer, an orientation leader and a campus tour guide throughout her four years at ��������Ƶ University. She continues to be active in the ��������Ƶ community, and hosted a site visit at her workplace this past year for one of Dr. Jen Jones' communication classes. Marisa fondly remembers doing site visits as a student, and how they helped prepare her for the professional world. "Academically, ��������Ƶ emphasizes taking advantage of opportunities to get involved. [Our professors] always looked out for us, trying to get us involved both inside and outside of the classroom. We really benefited from the comfort of working with outside businesses as students before we had to do it for real."

Professionally, Marisa continues to integrate herself into the community around her, serving on multiple Pittsburgh-area committees. In particular, she serves on the director’s board of the Pittsburgh New Works Festival - raising funds and promoting the festival as one of the youngest board members in its 28 year history. 

Marisa credits Jen Jones, Ph.D. and Frank Klapak, Ph.D. of ��������Ƶ University's Communication Department for helping her succeed throughout her undergraduate career. "I wouldn't be where I am without them," she says of her two professors. "Both have different experiences, and different teaching styles. This was helpful because the field of communication is so broad. They emphasized the university mission, not only valuing education for what it is but looking at things from an ethical point of view."