Alumni
Photo of Marissa Borjon

Marissa Borjon

Marketing Communications Senior Analyst, Toyota Motor North America
Public Relations and Advertising (MA)

What impact did your graduate experience have on your professional trajectory?

My graduate experience were two of the best years of my life! The faculty, adjunct professors and staff at USC Annenberg went above and beyond to provide me with an incredible educational experience. I was granted with the tools, resources and information to become a well-prepared public relations communications professional even before I graduated. I’m confident that the success I’ve had so far in my career is thanks in large part to my USC Annenberg graduate experience.

What from your USC Annenberg education best equips you to face the challenges of your field today?

I would say that writing and crisis communications are the top two topics that Annenberg best prepared me to handle in terms of the challenges in the public relations field today. No matter the forum and reason, knowing how to communicate concisely and effectively for a wide variety of audiences will always be important. Crises happen in all industries so I often refer back to the education and skills obtained during my coursework at USC Annenberg.

What advice would you give for someone considering graduate studies at USC?

My advice for someone considering USC Annenberg is to consider the popular thought among the broader communication and journalism fields that graduate students from these programs have a strong reputation of being the cream of the crop. It wasn’t until my time at USC Annenberg when I noticed that the tables started to turn in my interviews and employers were trying to convince me how great of a company they were and why I should join their team (knowing that my graduate student reputation preceded me and I’d often have the choice when considering offers).

What is the one thing that a USC Annenberg student ought to take advantage of while enrolled?

Definitely the Career Development team at USC Annenberg! I wish I utilized more of this team’s knowledge and expertise while I was a USC Annenberg student. I’ve come to learn that this team is top-notch when it comes to providing students with information on how to navigate the internship and job searches as well as how to connect students to alumni and resources.

Borjon’s notable projects:

  • Co-lead PR strategy development and execution for Toyota projects including the 2020 and 2019 Super Bowl advertisement debuts, 10 marketing campaign announcements, and five Olympic/Paralympic announcements.
  • Served as Product Communications lead for the global debut of the 2019 Toyota RAV4 at the 2018 New York International Auto Show, the media preview program introducing the 2019 RAV4 to over 130 journalists from the U.S., Canada, Australia and Mexico.
  • The reveal of the Future Toyota Adventure Concept (FT-AC) vehicle at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show.