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[[File:LaRissaLawrie2.jpg|thumb|200x300px|LaRissaLawrie2.jpg]]
LaRissa Lawrie earned a B.A. in Strategic Communication from Wichita State University in 2017. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Arts in Communication from Wichita State and is set to graduate in 2019.
She was born and raised in Wichita Kansas. Her background is in technical communications and working with engineers to create technical white papers. LaRissa is a lifestyle photographer, graphic designer, and copy-editor. In 2017, LaRissa started her own design agency called Modberry Market which serves small businessbusinesses, startups, and entrepreneurs.
She is a founding member of Shocker Startup and in the past served as Vice President. Shocker Startup has organized multiple large speaking events at Wichita State, is creating an alumni network of mentors to support student entrepreneurs, and is giving away grant money to fund prototypes for interdisciplinary student teams
As part of her UIF work, LaRissa gives pop-up classes/seminars on design-thinking, rapid prototyping, and creative confidence skills. This has served as a way to involve non-technical students in the innovation eco-system and get them involved. LaRissa is a past President of Lambda Pi Eta at Wichita State University - a national communications honor society. She also was awarded a one-year [http://www.salon.com/2017/07/26/introducing-salons-young-americans-project-reporting-from-the-red-states/ writing fellowship with Salon]. She is active in the entrepreneurship and communications communities in Wichita, she is also a member of Wichita Women Who Code and the Wichita Professional Communicatorsand the National Federation of Press Women.
Throughout her college career, she has been interested in the positive effects of bringing together diverse groups of students. LaRissa learned about University Innovation Fellows when she co-founded Shocker Startup with Wesley Alexis and Hannah Hund. UIF has given her the opportunity to explore how innovation and entrepreneurship can empower students. LaRissa’s passion is at the intersection of communication and technology. That passion is one of the primary drivers of her work to introduce interdisciplinary studies to Wichita State.