Marissa Chai Hibbert ’22 has been playing video games since she was five years old. This summer, all of her time and effort paid off, literally. In August, Hibbert discovered she was awarded the Gen.G Foundation scholarship, a $10,000 scholarship to support women, people of color and low-income college students in the fields of gaming, esports, entrepreneurship, content creation and journalism.
“We’re going to have mentorship programs,” Hibbert said. “We’re going to be connected with industry professionals. So I’m really really excited for it.”
The Gen.G Foundation is a worldwide esports organization that helps young people interested in gaming develop into leaders of the gaming and esports industry.
“I think what really attracted me to the esports organization was that I liked how they were making a full commitment to diversity,” Hibbert said. “The esports industry and gaming in general is really tough for marginalized people and marginalized creators, so the fact that that is one of the pillars of their foundation is fantastic.”
“I think what really attracted me to the esports organization was that I liked how they were making a full commitment to diversity,” Hibbert said. “The esports industry and gaming in general is really tough for marginalized people and marginalized creators, so the fact that that is one of the pillars of their foundation is fantastic.”
Hibbert applied for the scholarship after seeing an advertisement for it on Twitter around final exams season in May. She had an interview in June, and then another final interview in August where she was notified that she had received the scholarship.
She recalled how it was one of the best surprises of her life.
“The funniest part about it was that I didn’t even know what the financial portion of the scholarship was,” Hibbert said. “It wasn’t until the announcement last week, later on in the evening that I looked and said ‘Oh my god.’”
Hibbert started to get into the esports side of gaming around when the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. That year, she joined the College of William and Mary’s esports interdisciplinary program. After discussing esports with Lecturer of Speech Michele King of the Jump-Start Data Science Summer Program, Hibbert was soon appointed as one of the heads of the social media for the esports interdisciplinary program.
The interdisciplinary program is different from the Esports Club on campus. Though at first the program started off as a project, it has now grown to become a space where students can play on the varsity team and also take classes working towards a minor in esports.
Last year, Hibbert worked as the head of social media for the program, creating the fan portal and directing platforms such as their Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Twitch. This year, Hibbert’s role is changing with the program.
“Now that we are expanding, my position has changed a little bit away from social media and more towards outreach,” Hibbert said. “I show not only the William & Mary Community, but the Williamsburg area, Tidewater, Hampton Roads, all of Virginia, that esports at William & Mary exists.”
As an outreach director, Hibbert works on the management side of the esports program. She created the program’s website and is the only woman out of seven campus “esports pioneers.” According to the program, esports pioneers are “student leaders who were selected to develop the esports landscape at W&M tailored to their area of expertise from financial and organizational outreach, media and communication to the varsity coordinator, academic specialist, and wellness advocates.”
“One of the most rewarding parts about the program is that I get to interact with people I otherwise would never cross paths with,” Hibbert said.
In addition to being the head of outreach and communications for the esports team, Hibbert is involved as the nominating chair for the Nu Chi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Hibbert is majoring in Business Analytics with a Data Science minor and concentration in Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
After college, Hibbert intends to pursue her interests in gaming.
“My hopes are definitely set pretty high. I would love to work in esports after I graduate,” Hibbert said. “Either behind the scenes as a part of production or even being a broadcaster for events. I don’t know that I’d be much of a competitive gamer, but I definitely want to work in esports after I graduate.”
“My hopes are definitely set pretty high. I would love to work in esports after I graduate,” Hibbert said. “Either behind the scenes as a part of production or even being a broadcaster for events. I don’t know that I’d be much of a competitive gamer, but I definitely want to work in esports after I graduate.”
She also is interested in the cosmetics industry and beauty. Hibbert described how she would love to pursue a career where she could see the crossover between her two passions: gaming and beauty.
In addition to receiving the Gen.G Foundation scholarship, Hibbert also recently received a scholarship from the 1,000 Dreams Fund. Hibbert was part of the first cohort of this scholarship, intended to highlight women and femmes in different industries — this year being gaming.
As her four years at the College come to a close, Hibbert is finishing on a reflective note, filled with gratitude and good intent for the future.
“Just do it,” Hibbert said. “Ask somebody. Nine times out of ten there’s someone who knows something about what you want to know. Take risks, value your mental health, and do things with good intent.”
