Marissa is an alumnus of the 2007 NASA Academy at MSFC. She is a senior at University of California, Los Angeles, working on her Bachelors of Science in Astrophysics.  Her research background includes imaging and data analysis of Chandra images of compact colliding galaxy groups at UCLA and also gamma-ray burst software package development for GLAST in the Academy 2007. In the future, Marissa hopes to pursue a career as an astronaut after receiving a Ph.D. in Astrophysics and a MS from the International Space University. Space activities aside, Marissa enjoys surfing, snowboarding, basketball, softball and music. Marissa’s goal in life is to experience as much as possible and to live life with a positive, open, and excited attitude.