Marissa J SheafDirector of Health Professions Advising

Marissa Sheaf is the Director of Health Professions Advising at Franklin & Marshall College. In this capacity Marissa strives to provide personalized guidance and to support successful career path progression for college undergraduates and alumni with interests in healthcare and health sciences.

Marissa’s career is deeply embedded in higher education. Marissa graduated from Susquehanna University with a degree in Communications and shortly thereafter moved to a position at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine working in development and institutional events. Her keen interest in global affairs and education ultimately led her to France where she spent a year teaching high school students and systematizing the adult education English program in her small town. This experience clarified Marissa’s passion for guidance and counseling, and fostered her return to Penn where she first played an integral role in the launch of the BSN-PhD program at the School of Nursing. She subsequently worked as the primary advisor to the traditional and accelerated undergraduate student populations pursing their degrees in nursing and the larger field of healthcare. While at Penn, Marissa completed her Masters Degree in School and Mental Health Counseling at the Graduate School of Education along with internships at Upward Bound and at the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Treatment and Research Center. An avid reader, students and alumni should not be surprised to leave Marissa's office with several book recommendations along with advice, resources and support regarding careers in healthcare and health sciences.