Melissa is a professional academic counselor at the university level. She works with students to help promote their holistic success and confidence as evolving learners and professionals. Additionally, she has developed curriculum on topics such as ethical and equitable leadership, undocumented student support, academic success, identity and motivation, professional development, and more.

Melissa has long supported students with their writing needs and communication skills, among other things. When she started college, she became a mentee in a mentoring program, and was then selected to serve as a mentor in the same program, helping student navigate the challenges of college life. After college, she began working for an organization helping international students. She then went to on to serve in student affairs and continuing education and training for nontraditional students, supporting the ambitions of recent immigrants, refugees, and undocumented students. This was followed by academic counseling and teaching where Melissa designed college classes and oversaw a mentoring program just like the one she had participated in during college. Most recently, she joined an educational foundation, where she oversees a program designed to support highly ambitious, underrepresented high school students on their journeys to selective liberal arts colleges. Alongside this, she consults medical and graduate students on their writing.

A writer, lifelong learner, Latina, and adoptee, Melissa is passionate about helping students identify their biggest strengths and sources of inspiration so that they can become more compelling writers and orators. She utilizes a strengths-based approach that prioritizes student goals and needs, while also nurturing leadership development, vision and mission exploration, skill cultivation, and meaningful personalized self-expression. She earned her master’s degree in higher education leadership and bachelor’s in communications and Latin American and Latino studies at DePaul University. She is currently working on her master’s of social work at Dominican University in hopes of supporting students even further with clinical counseling expertise.