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Frankford Student Poised for Success

Marissa Peal graduates from Penn State.

Marissa, At the Neer Waterfall in India

There are many graduations stories this time of year in Frankford.  This is just one of them.

I first heard about Marissa last year when it caught my ear that a student from Frankford was studying abroad in India.  That is such an interesting idea that I had to find out the story.  Marissa grew up in Frankford on Josephine Street with her mom Carol Lynn, dad William, sister Mariah and brother Sean.  She attended Allen M. Stearne Elementary School, Warren G. Harding Middle School and Murrell Dobbins Career Technical Educational High School where she studied cosmetology.

In her own words:  Since I was born I’ve attended the Second Baptist Church of Frankford where Darrell Ricardo Bradsbery is the Reverand. My mother, mother’s siblings, my grandmother, and grandfather have all been members of this church, making it close to a traditional path in our family.

All of my friends and professional relationships I have established in college are people I know personally and they have all given me inspiration in more ways than I can count. I am surround by friends with entrepreneurial, artistic, service oriented, and doctoral goals which motivates me to work hard and to inspire those around me through my actions.My ambitions after graduation is to work in an advertising agency. I really want to contribute my ideas to an agency that focuses on marketing towards minorities. I want to to build that gap between those who are underrepresented, specifically women in the beauty realm.

While studying a semester abroad in India, I made many friends who I remain in contact with today. We use Facebook and twitter to stay connected and are making future plans to reunite again. I miss the historical sites in India. It was amazing to learn about pivotal moments like the assassination of India’s first female prime minister, Indira Gandhi, and actually taking the metro to the site! I also miss the shopping very much. Following my adventure to India, I recently spent my spring break in Honduras building a gravity water system in the Palo Verde (means Green trees) village. It will supply 18 homes and a school with clean water. I am so ready to visit Africa next. I am not sure which countries but I have a few friends I can visit and plenty of options.

Marissa is now wading through job offers for the next stage of her life.  Congratulations to her and all the Frankford graduates this year.  You are the hope for the future.