Student Profile: Marissa Venanzi ’21
Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of the Chatham experience is the community. In such unprecedented times, I (Abigail Kneuss ‘23), have become increasingly grateful for this community and its members. In an effort to showcase just a few of these great people, I’ll be doing a series of student interviews in the coming weeks. These highlights are for students, about students, and by students. This week features Marissa Venanzi ’21.
As an RA in Woodland, a captain of the Chatham cheer squad, a Human Biology major, and a Spin instructor, Marissa keeps herself busy. Luckily, she found some time to squeeze a chat with me into her busy schedule where we got to talk about her, what she’s learned during her time at Chatham, and her plans for the future. Learn more about Marissa and her glowing personality below!
Marissa Venanzi ’21
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Major: Human Biology, IDP Physician Assistant Studies
Hometown: Monongahela, PA
Q: What are your post-graduation plans?
A: So, I’ll graduate from my undergrad next spring and then from the PA grad program in 2023. After that, I plan on being a dermatology physician’s assistant. I’ve always known I wanted to be in medicine but didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, so I started shadowing medical professionals in high school. I loved how much interaction physician assistants get with patients. It merges my love of science and people together. A lot of the people I shadowed said Chatham had the best PA program in Pennsylvania and that they would hire a Chatham graduate over anyone else who applied for the position. So, I decided to go here!
Q: What’s your favorite class you’ve taken?
A: My anatomy class with Dr. Ali was a cadaver lab and I was really intimidated by that at first. But Dr. Ali made it so normalized and focused on respecting the bodies and learning what we could from them. It was a really important class for me to take because I gained so much practical knowledge about the human body.
I also loved Neuroscience with Dr. Block. Not only is he such a kind and great professor, but neuroscience is also so interesting. You get to learn on a cellular and molecular level your nervous system which provides a basis for everything else you learn in my major. That class and Dr. Block inspired me to add a neuroscience minor.
Q: How has COVID impacted your semester?
A: I needed shadowing hours before grad school and I haven’t been able to get any because of COVID, so it has been a challenge but obviously everybody has been accommodating. Additionally, as an RA in Woodland, I have all First Year female-identifying residents, and it has been really difficult to see them not experience college as I experienced it my first year. I’m really proud of them for following the rules and it’s important that we all follow the protocols because they’re vital to returning to normalcy soon enough.
Q: What’s the best part of being a captain on the cheer squad?
A: Cheer is so much fun! I never did it before coming to college. I was a competitive dancer and when I got to Chatham; I wanted to continue doing something along those lines and ended up in cheer. The best part of being a captain is empowering everyone on the squad. We’re a group that continuously empowers one another and strives to succeed as a group, not just as individuals and we have so much fun along the way!
Q: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
A: I’m a Spin instructor here in Pittsburgh. I love doing that for the same reasons I love cheer; empowering people and pushing them to be the best that they can be. I also love yoga. I would suggest a sun salutation or a child’s pose for anyone who needs to relieve a little bit of stress right now. I also love anything art or coffee related! Zeke’s in East Liberty is so good, they make their own chocolate syrup for their mochas and it’s unmatched.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to your past self what would it be?
A: To not be so hard on myself. I am such a perfectionist when it comes to grades and it wasn’t until I took Organic Chemistry that I realized you can’t be good at everything all of the time. Sometimes you need to prioritize your responsibilities and be comfortable in knowing that you have done your best. You can’t always overachieve and you have to be ok with not having insane grades because ultimately, your mental health is more important.