Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Marissa De Paoli and Michael Carioscia are engaged to be married, after Mike proposed during a walk after dinner on the first night of a trip to Vail, Colorado.
“The scenery was beautiful, and it felt like the perfect moment,” Mike says. “The first thing we did was call our family to let them know the news.”
The couple met at Hardcore Italians, a producer and marketer of Italian pride products that Mike co-founded with his father in 2011.
“Marissa started as a brand ambassador and would take photos wearing the merchandise to help us with promotions. Since I did the marketing, we spent a lot of time together,” Mike explains. “We both love being Italian American, we had the same values and we related to each other on every level.”
Mike eventually asked Marissa out, and they continued to date while she pursued bachelor and master of health science degrees in communication disorders from Governors State University, earning the latter last December.
“Marissa wrote blogs, posted on social media and helped me grow the business when she had time between studying,” Mike says. “Over the years, I added more employees, and having her help with launching my business is something I’m so grateful for and will never forget.”
