Staff Spotlight | Melanie Harris
Each month, the Division of Student Affairs spotlights an outstanding staff member who is “making history” at UNA. This month, the light shines on Melanie Harris, the Graduate Assistant for Greek Life in the Office of Student Engagement.
Melanie Harris never realized how complex Greek Life at UNA was—until she became the graduate assistant. Melanie, a 2008 UNA graduate, has become a vital member of the Student Engagement team as she makes it her personal goal to assist in taking Greek Life to the next level. Melanie is currently serving as the as the Order of Omega (The Greek Honor Society) advisor and is helping plan Greek Retreat for January. Melanie is very excited about Greek Retreat because they are doing lots of new things this year that will make a positive difference in quality of leadership of each of UNA’s Greek chapters.
One of her most notable accomplishments this semester is starting the Greek Life Newsletter. Melanie has created and worked diligently on the Greek Life Newsletter, which highlights chapter accomplishments and also provides information for upcoming events. This newsletter is distributed monthly via email to all UNA Faculty and Staff and Greek members. Melanie did a great job working with all the Greek organizations to get information about individual and group accomplishments, leadership, and philanthropy. The November edition of the newsletter can be viewed at this link.
Melanie says that her favorite thing about her job is working with students. Harris says that “This job has allowed me to work with students in a different capacity than I have ever before. I am seen more as an advisor and leader to the students. With any job, being able to help or make a difference in a student’s life is a wonderful reward! A smile and spending time talking, guiding or training a student can mean a lot.”
According to Tammy Jacques, Director of Student Engagement, she is impressed with Melanie’s "can-do" attitude, dependability, and amazing follow through. “She is so personable so she relates to the student leaders extremely well. Her creativity is amazing as she works and advises UNA students,” said Jacques.
Chenequa Clayton, Assistant Director of Student Engagement for Greek Life, agrees that Melanie has contributed greatly in the three months that she has worked in the office. “Melanie is the kind of person that takes initiative and gets the ball rolling before being asked. She works hard at everything she does and always with a positive attitude,” said Clayton.
Outside of her graduate assistantship, Harris is making history outside the classroom to make an impact IN the classroom. Harris presented with Dr. Linda Lewis and Britney Wilkins (Graduate Student) at the ACTM (Alabama Council of Teachers of Mathematics) Annual Conference on October 23 – 24th. The title of the presentation was Motivating Middle Schoolers with Multi-Media Math. The presentation gives teachers many resources to how and what technology should be used in the classroom. She is working with Dr. Lewis and Ms. Wilkins to publish it in the Middle School Journal and also trying to put it in a technology teacher magazine.
The Division of Student Affairs is very proud of all of Melanie’s accomplishments and the positive impact she is continuing to make at UNA. We thank her for all of her hard work and look forward to seeing more great things to come.
