Marissa died Tuesday after collapsing in her Lake Orion, Mich., home on Monday from a brain aneurysm. Doctors later told her family she had been brain-dead in a matter of seconds, and didn’t feel any pain.

Marianne said her daughter drew joy from making others laugh, and loved hearing the stories of others.

She said Marissa worked at a local coney restaurant in high school and would always come home with stories about the interesting people she met there — even asking if there were things she could do to help those she met who were less fortunate.

Marissa also took special joy from organizing a senior prom each year as part of her National Honor Society, where senior citizens could participate in their own prom, Marianne said.

“She was a selfless person that did everything for everybody,” she said. “Her only condition was that she was going to have fun doing it.”

Although she had only taken one semester of classes at MSU, Marianne said her daughter enjoyed school and was excited to be pursuing a degree in the sciences.

Allison Mitchell, a Lyman Briggs freshman and Lake Orion resident, said Marissa has been an inspiration to her since their middle school days when they participated in track and field together.

“I looked up to her a lot, and she really helped me,” she said.

Mitchell said Marissa continued to help people even after death by donating her organs. She said six people were helped by Marissa’s organ donations.

Marissa also shared a close bond with her brother Joey Romsek, who has spina bifida, a genetic condition that forces him to use a wheelchair, Mitchell said. Marissa supported him and enjoyed watching his wheelchair basketball games.

An avid snowboarder, Marissa loved being outdoors, Marianne said. No matter what she was doing, she said her daughter got excited about it and gave it all of her attention.

“(Marissa) found the little, quaint things in life so inspiring,” she said. “She got excited at just about everything she did.”

After meeting Marissa for the first time in early September 2011, undecided freshman Randy Thoms knew she was different.

Thoms said he and Marissa spent quite a bit of time together during their first semester, walking around, going to MSU football games and just learning what it was like to be college students. During that time,
he said Marissa was nice
to everyone she met, and he said he’d never had a bad time with her.
“Everybody was on the same level as her — she always could connect with everybody and wouldn’t think twice,” Thoms said. “She was a saint.”