Earlier this year, global marketing professional and content creator Marisa Chen, ’20, was recognized as one of three 2025 OSU Changemakers. Hosted by the OSU Alumni Association, the Changemakers program celebrates Beavers who meaningfully shape their communities or fields of interest. Now reaching half a million people through the social media brand she began building as an honors student, Marisa sees this recognition as “a testament to the power of community and the belief that even modest actions can have a profound impact,” she says. “I truly believe that changemakers exist in every generation, and some of the greatest changemakers are producing waves of positive impact by bringing joy, creativity and education right to your phone.”
Nine years ago, Marisa did not expect to become a pioneer in the influencer marketing industry. “At that point, in 2016, social media marketing hadn’t fully taken off,” she says. “The marketing world remained very traditional.” Students in Marisa’s major, merchandising management, faced traditional expectations as well. “The expectation was that by the time you graduated, your portfolio would be a product line plan that you could present to companies or brands,” Marisa says. “I knew I needed to create something like that, but my entrepreneurial spirit drew me toward a different angle.”
As a life-long fashion-lover and part of a generation “big on digital media,” Marisa decided, “why don’t I write a fashion blog and see if I can build my knowledge and experience of fashion in my degree while leveraging a blog to show my business-savvy side?” Her blog quickly transitioned into posting fashion and lifestyle content on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok as the influencer marketing industry emerged, with brands increasingly working with people who had social media followings.
“For me, building relationships with brands happened organically,” Marisa says. “That’s what made my social media journey so special, since I started so young and early in the industry. I remember the first time I worked with Abercrombie in college — I was ecstatic. As a student, receiving outfits from a brand I loved was incredibly exciting, and I shot the looks around campus because that was my reality. While building those relationships, I was also growing an audience who knew I had been shopping from those brands for a long time. That created trust and allowed me to partner with brands in an authentic way.”
While developing her online presence, Marisa used her honors thesis as an opportunity to investigate fashion bloggers’ influence on consumer spending. “I really wanted to pursue this idea around ‘influencers’ that we see on social media and how they impact our purchase decisions, which is all we talk about in retail now. But at the time of writing my thesis, ‘influencer’ wasn’t even a word that I could use,” Marisa says. “When I pitched my research, no one in the faculty understood the concept I was trying to go after.” She expresses thanks to the professors and advisors who supported her project, “even though it was slightly ahead of its time.” Marisa completed her thesis under mentorship from Kathy Mullet, who retired from OSU in 2019 after serving as an associate professor of design and coordinator of the university’s apparel design program.
In support of her thesis research, Marisa received an Honors College Experiential Learning Scholarship to attend a digital marketing conference in 2019. Called Create & Cultivate, the conference is the world’s largest for women in business. “I got to travel to New York City and have a tangible experience in the industry, which was very gratifying,” she says. Social media marketing and brand-influencer collaboration were major topics at the conference, giving Marisa industry insight to augment her own quantitative research. “Receiving funding for that experience made me feel that the Honors College believed in me and wanted to support not only my undergraduate research, but also my career,” Marisa reflects.
Alongside creating content that inspires a diverse community of young women, Marisa leverages her social media savvy in her corporate role with Columbia Sportswear. After entering the company in 2022 as an international marketing coordinator, Marisa earned a quick promotion to her current position in product line management. She and her team “lean on social media every day to understand the consumer and better reach our target market,” Marisa says. In developing product lines for Columbia’s performance fishing and hunting gear — two activities Marisa lacks experience with — social media provides valuable access to perspectives of people that Marisa says she “might not otherwise relate to. It helps us create products that make it easier for the consumer to do what they love.”
At Columbia, Marisa is grateful to be part of a “positive and welcoming company culture” that mirrors her own desire to uplift others. “I think it’s very important to hear everyone’s voice in the business, no matter their job title, age or number of years in the industry,” she says. “The best leaders I’ve had treat everyone on their team with the same respect. As I continue in my career, I want to lead by example by promoting an inclusive workplace, believing in young talent and helping nurture new careers.”
In support of this mission, Marisa invests in the next generation of creative leaders at Oregon State. “One way I do that is by staying connected with former professors,” she says. “Brigitte Cluver and Andrea Marks were transformative mentors for me, and I’ve returned to speak with their classes multiple times.” The Changemakers program has also been a valuable way to stay engaged. “Beyond that, many students and recent grads have reached out by email or LinkedIn, and I’m always open to helping anyone who asks.”
Similarly, the opportunity to build connection and mutual empowerment with young women drives Marisa’s continued passion for creating content. “Digital media can be powerfully used to uplift others,” she says. “My main mission through my content is to help others believe that they, too, can accomplish their dream life.” While still centering on fashion, Marisa’s content has evolved to include reflection on the challenges and successes of living life in your twenties, which she navigates in tandem with a robust online community of entrepreneurial college students, young professionals and working moms. As Marisa tells her Instagram audience in a recent post: “I hope I can continue to connect with and inspire women, just by being myself.”
Marisa sees her investment in mentorship as part of a full-circle effort. “The College of Business and the Honors College offered countless resources for me to network with people who were working in my dream job,” she says. “The mentorship I received at OSU is integral to the way I show up in the workforce now. That is what inspires me to be a mentor to students at Oregon State — because without my mentors, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Written by Ana Tracy, HC Student Writer
