Marisel Figueroa-Marrero

Raised in Dorchester and still living there, Associate Dean Marisel Figueroa-Marrero has been invested in the Boston area for her whole life. She went to Boston Latin School and loves to read in her spare time. Now a hockey mom, Figueroa-Marrero enjoys spending time with her two kids.

What was your favorite subject in high school and why?

I have an inclination towards humanities: English, language arts and history, primarily because I love reading. I would spend my summers reading book after book after book and loving how my mind escaped to other places. I used imagination to create other worlds for me when I couldn’t travel to these other countries or states because my family couldn’t afford it. I had a really strong, crazy imagination, and books had a way of feeding into that. I love writing because it is almost like the same experience, especially free writing. I was a very shy person and student when I was in middle school and the beginning of high school, so I used writing as a way to explore my feelings and get them out. 

Did you always want to be a teacher?

My passion at first was to become a forensic psychologist. My interests always lie in the helping professions, and I was very much interested in learning and understanding why people behave the way they do. I always wondered about the purpose behind a behavior, especially when it was maladaptive behavior. I was very interested in the criminal justice system and the intersection of psychology and criminal justice. I actually went to graduate school and got two master’s degrees, one in criminal justice and one in mental health counseling.

What advice would you give to your high school self? 

If I were sitting across from my high school self right now, I would tell her to not be afraid to take risks and to allow herself to explore the different interests that she has without feeling judged or guilty. I would tell her that, yeah, it feels really tough right now. Expectations can feel really debilitating at times, but think about everything that you’ve been through already and all those times that you felt rejected. Maybe it was meant to be because it will lead you to the path that ultimately you would want to take. Enjoy the moment because you’re in it right now. When you look back, you’re going to realize, wow, that time flew by and you didn’t get to enjoy it because you weren’t in the moment.

What made you want to work here at the high school?

This district has a priority of bringing forth conversations and attention to issues of equity and inclusion. I’m all about that. I was at a point of my professional development and career where it was either I made a choice of staying on this path or trying something different. My role here is not too different than the roles I’ve had at Boston Public Schools. I knew that there would be enough differences where I would be challenged, and I’m a person who thrives off of challenges.