Marrissa Hellesen

2024 Distinguished Alumni Service Award

Marrissa serves as a Software Engineering Manager at Microsoft, leading the charge in crafting the user experience for the Office Programmability Platform and enabling developers to innovate in widely used Office applications. Her ascent into the tech industry from a non-traditional educational path is a source of inspiration. After pausing her formal education after 8th grade, her relentless love of learning led her back to academia, and she graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in computer science. Her journey in technology serves as a reminder that everyone's path to tech is different and there is power in diverse experiences. In her professional life, Marrissa is deeply committed to fostering mentorship, equity, and inclusion within the engineering sectors of Microsoft, advocating for change at every organizational level.

At home, she can be found chasing two preschoolers and enjoying reading books and playing video games during her cherished moments of downtime.