Writing is something that Melissa has always been passionate about, even when she was a child. “Ever since I was twelve, I have been writing stories,” she explains. Her display of creativity and her love of writing truly reached her full potential upon arriving at St. Thomas Aquinas College.
With her drive and love of writing, Melissa hit the ground running at STAC, becoming an active member of the Gender & Sexuality Alliance and the Writing Club. She’s a member of the Laetare Players and writes for STAC’s school newspaper, The Thoma. To add to an already impressive collection of writing, she was published in various issues of STAC’s online literary magazine, The Voyager.
Throughout her coursework, something that sticks with Melissa is how much she values the varying genres that the English department covers in its curriculum: “Exposing writers to different genres not only allows for a deeper appreciation for what is known but also for what is still to be learned,” she says.
Particularly, Melissa enjoys studying historical writers’ influences on modern-day times, and the workshops that, “test our writing skills across different subjects, different time periods, and genres.” Within her Creative Writing major, this was a great way for Melissa to “explore the endless possibilities that her craft offers.” Her closeness with her professors, and the experiences they provided, not only ensured Melissa that she was fully supported, but also allowed her to express herself more freely and gain the confidence to go beyond writing solely for classroom assignments.
Besides being enrolled in the Honors Program, Melissa has worked as a writer for the Odyssey online, where she would submit multiple articles for publication each month. She is an Independent Novelist for various online publishers, where she publishes stories and keeps track of multiple projects on various outlets like WordPress, Wattpad, and ArchiveOfOurOwn.
Five years from now, Melissa sees herself with a degree in English and Creative Writing and working as an editor for a literary magazine or publishing house. With that, she would also like to have a few books published. “STAC helped me to consider the different career options within my field of study, and really helped me decide what field within the writing industry I wanted to pursue.”
In her free time, Melissa likes to read, swim, knit, play video games, and loves to spend time with her dog Teddy!