Hi! My name’s Marissa, it’s nice to meet you! I’m one of those people who puts their hand up and says “pick me!!” whenever an opportunity presents itself, so I’m a bit of a mixed bag. I’m a self-professed computer geek and lover of all things sciencey, a qualified primary school teacher, and a computer scientist with a passion for getting students enthused about STEM. I love to show people why it’s such a fantastic and exciting field to be in! I’m currently working as a science communicator, and at the same time doing my PhD developing software to help high-functioning children with autism to improve their social skills. It’s wonderful being able to combine my love of computer programming with my passion for helping people! I’ve worked as a software engineer, as a relief teacher, as a coordinator and carer in out of school care, as a private tutor for students in primary school all the way through to tutoring whole classes of tertiary students, and even developed some websites for people along the way. Like I said, a mixed bag! But I’ve been very fortunate to be able to do things that I really love.
Outside of my professional life, I’m a mum to a beautiful little girl and I’m an avid crafter! I love crafty gadgets (must be the tech geek in me!) and trying out all the newest crazes, so naturally I’m a Pinterest addict too. Jewellery making, scrapbooking, cardmaking, sewing, polymer clay modelling, glass fusing and etching, you name it, I’ve dabbled!
And now, I want to help you to teach STEM, especially coding, to our future computer experts, engineers, mathematicians and scientists!