1. MELINA REEVES Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire – William Butler Yeats

2. ASPIRING TO TEACH AND MOLD THE MINDS OF OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS… Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Science with Concentration in Education. Minor in Social and Criminal Justice. I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA I also hold a certificate of completion for Process Technology. I am beginning my Masters degree program in Education with specialization in Family and Community Services.

3. MY DAUGHTERS….MY INSPIRATION I decided to become a teacher after being a school substitute for several years. I was able to follow my girls through school and loved interacting with the students. I have been a domestic engineer for most of my adult life and my daughters inspired me to become a teacher. All three have graduated high school and are now in the U.S. Navy.

4. BEFORE ASHFORD UNIVERSITY Pasadena High School I attended PHS until my junior year in high school. A large public school of over 4000 students that offered many electives such as the Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. Cadet Staff Sgt Enjoyed courses such as Business Law. Saint Jo High School A small public school of only 300 students from k-12 was quite the culture shock. I had straight A’s at this school where there was more one on one teacher/student interaction. I graduated from SJHS and became a substitute teacher for several years.

5. INTERESTS Photography I was lucky to have such great models. I have had the privilege of photographing weddings, senior pictures and family photos. My Beautiful German Shepherd… Duke He is such an amazing animal. My Wonderful Husband of 20 years. Now that our girls are gone, he has been super supportive in helping me through the empty nest syndrome. He has started courting me again. Opening car doors, taking me out on date nights. It is amazing.

6. EDUCATIONAL IMPACT I was drifting through high school as a rebellious teenager and made some extremely bad choices. I got pregnant. I moved to Saint Jo my junior year in high school because my mother kicked me out and went to live with my dad. Two weeks into my senior year, my son was born. A bouncing 9lb 4 1/2oz baby boy. He passed away from SIDS when he was two months old and my world crumbled. I had turned my life around for him, brought all my grades up to A’s and had plans for college. When I lost him, I gave up. I was a shell of a person until Mrs. Luton kept me after class one day and gave me a speech I will never forget. She told me that we have to live by our choices and I could choose to honor my son. From that day, I have done everything I could to honor him.

7. WHAT MY MASTERS DEGREE MEANS TO ME For most of my adult life I have been a housewife and mother to three beautiful daughters. I have very little work experience. A Master’s degree will help me re-enter the work force even more than a Bachelor’s degree. I am nearly 40 years old. A Masters will help me to compete with a 22 year old holding only a Bachelor’s degree. I eventually would like to teach higher education and a Master’s degree is the next step before reaching for a doctorate.

8. MAY I BE ONLY HALF THE TEACHER MRS. LUTON WAS TO ME…. "A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank...but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child." -- Forest Witcraft