Why I Chose EMU
Marisa Salice: ‘You are not just a number here.’
Marisa Salice is from an EMU family: her mother graduated from Eastern with bachelor’s degrees in exercise science and occupational therapy. “My mom is a proud EMU alum and helped me see myself in the EMU and Ypsilanti community,” she says. “My sister is now an EMU Eagle and shares the same love for the school as I do.”
Her favorite aspect of EMU is the people she’s met, from the faculty who care about their students' academic and career success, to the staff who want to see students' personal growth, to students who want to be immersed in campus life. “Everyone has a place here at EMU and I am happy I got a chance to be a part of it,” Salice says.
Salice graduated in April 2021 after majoring in political science and journalism and minoring in sustainability, and she is now a graduate student in the Integrated Marketing Communications program in the EMU College of Business. Before concluding her undergraduate degree, she accepted the marketing and outreach associate position at the Huron River Watershed Council.
Learning important lessons
Her favorite class as an undergraduate was Rhetoric vs. Reality, taught by Dr. Jeffery L. Bernstein. The course examined the difference between what rhetoric our nation was founded on and what the actual reality is.
“This class was my favorite because it provided a space to thoroughly ponder and analyze the foundational values in which our country was built upon,” Salice says. “I was also able to travel to Washington, D.C. for the first time with my peers, see monuments, visit national museums and meet important government officials.”
Salice, who also currently serves as a marketing and student outreach graduate assistant at the Honors College, advises incoming students to get involved in campus life in addition to pursuing their academic interests. “Your time at college is what you make of it and is completely in your own hands,” she says. “Join clubs and organizations that align with your values, get to know your professors, experience job opportunities on campus, and make memories."