Marina was born and raised in Okinawa, Japan. She moved to the United States in 2017 when her husband was stationed in North Carolina. Shortly after moving to the U.S., they adopted a dog named Kaiji. When Marina had to take Kaiji to the vet office, she could barely understand so she started using a dictionary to translate all of Kaiji’s medical records to understand his medical issues. This is what led Marina to have an interest in veterinary medicine.
Her pet care career path started in 2019. She worked at a pet store in Japan when she went back home for several months. Later that year, she started working as a veterinary assistant at a small veterinary clinic in North Carolina.
A few years later, Marina and her husband moved to Hawaii, where she continued to work as a veterinary assistant on Oahu. After enjoying tropical weather and a beach bum life for a little over 2 years, they moved to Virginia. Marina joined the Harmony team in December of 2023, and became a Fear Free Certified Professional. She’s currently taking a veterinary technician program at Penn Foster to gain more knowledge to better serve the patients and clients.
In her free time, Marina enjoys spending quality time with her husband, her dog Kaiji, and her cat Gigi. Marina loves traveling, snorkeling, hiking, pottery, exploring new places, and trying new food.