Marissa Almquist is a student majoring in elementary teaching at the University of Minnesota, Mankato. She has a history of academic success from elementary school through her first year of college. However, her second year of college was difficult due to an abusive relationship that resulted in an unplanned pregnancy. Though her GPA dropped, she continued working hard. After transferring to Normandale Community College, she was able to balance being a single mother, working full time, and attending school full time, bringing her GPA back up. Currently in the MNSU Edina program, she has maintained a 3.57 GPA while continuing to juggle parenting and work responsibilities, and has received recognition for her academic achievements.

1. To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Marissa Almquist. I am majoring in Elementary Teaching at the University
of Minnesota, Mankato. Since I started school as a child, I have always excelled. I played
basketball in the beginning of elementary and up through the end of middle school. I was on the
honor roll multiple times, and I was in DECA during my junior year of high school. Finally, I
was scouted for the state choir which met in Duluth when I was in eighth grade. I always have
remembered myself as getting A’s and B’s in school. Even my first year of college, I kept
excelling.
My second year of college was a bit different though. I was in an emotionally abusive
relationship, which ended with me getting pregnant. Due to the emotional abuse, dealing with
being pregnant, and becoming a mother all by myself at the age of 20, my school work suffered,
and my GPA dropped into the 2.7 region. Although my GPA dropped, I still was pushing myself
succeed in my classes. But due to all the stress, it just didn’t work out.
During the 2014-2015 school year at Normandale Community College, I had been able to
learn how to deal with being a single parent to an infant, working full time as a shift lead at
Holiday Stationstore, and going to school full time. I have a lot of support through family and
friends. I would definitely say I am a goal driven person. I am also the type of person who will
keep working at something until I achieve it. I succeeded that school year with A’s and B’s, and
even was able to retake a couple classes that summer that I had already taken in previous
semesters, which helped get my GPA back up. But, I was still a few points short which led me to
have to create a variance to get into the MNSU Edina program.
I am probably at the proudest moment in my life so far. By the end of Block 1 in the
MNSU Edina program, I received an undergraduate GPA of 3.57, which pushed my cumulative

2. GPA to a 3.099. My variance was dropped going into Block II of the program. To my surprise, I
received a letter in the mail stating I was on the MNSU deans list, and also received a letter to
join Pi Lambda Theta. I was able to accomplish these high achievements, while continuing to be
a single mother to a toddler, working, and going to school full time.
I do not give up when times get hard, I continue to push myself to be successful, and
having a lot on my plate has kept me organized and responsible. I believe those aspects are what
can make a teacher great. I never understood my potential until the past couple years. Becoming
a mother has changed my outlook on life. I now am not just reaching my goals for myself, but
also to give my son a great life to grow up in.
Sincerely,
Marissa Almquist