5 Things: Marcus Marasigan

As a member of Heidelberg’s men’s lacrosse team, Marcus Marasigan arrived at Heidelberg when the sport was in just its second season. He originally enrolled at another college to play the sport, but changes in the program left him looking for a new home. When Heidelberg was able to match the financial aid, he was sold. Here, he has been able to expand his horizons beyond the classroom, pick up a couple of new hobbies and continue to tackle opportunities presented to him.

Exceptional opportunities 

As a Health Sciences major, Marcus is graduating this May and plans to attend massage therapy school and possibly then physical therapy school. Although his ultimate goal is physical therapy, he believes in giving life the reigns and seeing where the journey takes him. His favorite academic experience is the opportunity to work in the cadaver lab as part of his Anatomy & Physiology courses. “They were the hardest classes I’ve taken but ones that I have learned the most from,” Marcus says “This is an opportunity most universities aren’t able to offer,” one that Marcus is very grateful for. 

Trying new things

Marcus had no experience or knowledge about lacrosse until his freshman year of high school when all his friends started playing the sport. To his astonishment, he was able to take it up almost immediately and is now a college student-athlete. Lacrosse was one of his deciding factors when choosing which college to attend. Being a part of Heidelberg’s newly created lacrosse program is something Marcus found exciting to be a part of. Now in his senior year, Marcus has been able to help build the program and work with new teammates. 

Out on his own

Going to college away from your hometown is scary, to begin with, let alone traveling on your own. Marcus decided to take his big step into the world and participate in a study abroad internship program in South Africa. He stayed for two months in the summer of 2019 where he was able to intern at three different clinics, one being a rock climbing clinic, a new hobby he hopes to take up. During his time working with the rock climbing clinic, he was able to work hands-on with a patient who was training for the world cup. Marcus’ favorite memory while abroad was bungee jumping off the highest bridge called Bloukrans Bridge. “It was really surreal,” he says. He also stated that something he will never forget is laying on the beach, looking up at the stars, and the skies were so clear that you could see the galaxy, “I actually cried because I couldn’t process it. It was something I have never seen in my life and could never capture with a camera.” When you give life the reigns it sometimes shows you its true beauty. 

That Tiffin life

Transitioning to Heidelberg was a dramatic change for Marcus, who comes from the big-city life of Chicago. He describes it as being a lot smaller and the pace of life a lot slower. There are endless things about his new life in a country area that continue to surprise him. One of the most shocking was all of the agriculture. “I was shocked by all the farm stuff,” he says. “So much corn!”  He has never heard of a county fair until coming to Tiffin. The thought of raising livestock as a child and then auctioning them astonishes him. His transition from city life to country life wasn’t as difficult as he thought it may be, but the lifestyle continues to surprise him. 

A child star -- almost

One surprising factor in Marcus’ life that most don’t know about is his childhood modeling and acting experiences. Marcus had an agency from the ages of 3-7where he would model for photos and act for commercials. Unfortunately, it came to an end when his family moved away from his agency and it became too difficult when he began to start school. The photography aspect is still alive today and Marcus works for the Heidelberg Athletics Department, where he puts his new-found hobby of photography to work.

-- compiled by Amanda Overy, '20