Marissa Munroe is completing her first year in the M. Ed Learning Design and Technology online degree program. She is scheduled to graduate after Summer 2016. She is originally from New Jersey, but got her B.A. in English and Psychology at Georgia State.

UGA Online: What do you do for a living? Give us some background on yourself.

Marissa: I started out as a writer and editor for a company and that company also happened to do instructional design, which I had never heard of at the time. They had a new project and needed someone to help work on it so I was asked to do some of it. I began working on that project and realized I enjoyed instructional design since it combined the Psychology and the English. I ended up switching companies and am still doing instructional design.

UGA: Why did you decide to get your master’s degree?

M: I graduated from Georgia State University in 2009 and knew I wanted to get my master’s degree, but I was really burned out from undergrad. So, I kind of set a goal for myself that was “master’s by 30.” I ended up really liking instructional design and thought that I would love to be better at this and get a Master of Education since I knew I would probably stick with Instructional Design.

UGA: Why did you choose UGA to achieve your online degree?

M: I looked at a couple different programs, and liked that UGA is in-state for me. UGA’s also a great school. I loved that the cohort this year was 100% online for the first time. This really jived with my schedule since I live in Cumming, GA and because doing it 100% online is really helpful for my lifestyle.

UGA: Was this your first experience with online courses, or have you taken some before? What was your biggest surprise?

M: This was my first experience with online courses. The workload kind of surprised me, which is fine, but it was a little shocking, I think. I had a couple of audio issues and some headset issues initially, but besides that the technology has been pretty seamless. I’ve had Dr. Orey and Dr. Clinton, who’s the head of the program, and they’ve both been great since they’re very familiar with doing this kind of synchronous class. They’ve guided it well.

UGA: Tell me more about yourself outside of academic information. What are your hobbies? Do you have a family? What do you enjoy doing? Do you travel?

M: I’ve been married for three and a half years, and my husband and I love to travel. We went to Europe last year, and visited Belgium, France and England. Before that, we went to Finland randomly last year because he had to go for work, and I tagged along. We went to Toronto for our anniversary, as well. I used to work at Barnes & Noble for a year, so I’m a huge book advocate. We have two dogs. I attempt to paint, but I’m not really good at it. I got into kayaking when my dad’s side of the family had a reunion in the Adirondacks and kayaked up there.

Marissa’s employer gave her the opportunity to participate in an educational reimbursement program. Check with your employer for similar opportunities.