Maricelle was born and raised in San José, Costa Rica. She received her Ph.D. in Spanish with a focus on Caribbean literature. She also works as a French and Spanish interpreter for the Iowa City Community School District to facilitate communication between school personnel and Latinx and Franco-African students and their parents. She has been in the Spanish Department at The University of Iowa since 2003. She has taught Elementary Portuguese, Introduction to Reading Literature, Spanish for Heritage Speakers, Spanish Language Skills: Speaking, and Spanish Language Skills: Writing. In addition, she has taught Elementary and Intermediate Spanish at the GEP. 

Maricelle developed and taught Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Spanish for Health Professionals for medical students at the UI Carver College of Medicine.

One bit of wisdom that Maricelle frequently shares with her students is that the best way to understand ourselves is to study new languages and learn about their cultures.