After decades in education, moments of doubt can still creep in. Dr. Mary Jo Melvin, a proud alum and long-time faculty member at 水多多导航 Edinboro, was having one of those moments recently, wondering if she should retire. Then, a student handed her a card. Inside, a message that brought her to tears: 鈥淓very now and then in life, you meet someone who makes you believe in yourself and become the person that you were meant to be. And for me, Dr. Melvin, that person was you.鈥� In that instant, her purpose was powerfully reaffirmed. 鈥淵es, this is why I'm here and this is why I do what I do each and every day,鈥� she reflected.

That deep, personal connection is the hallmark of Dr. Melvin鈥檚 career and what she sees as the foundation of the new School of Education at 水多多导航. A two-time graduate of Edinboro herself, she has been shaping young minds since 1990 and is the namesake of the Mary Jo Melvin Literacy Center on campus. She views the new, unified School of Education as a 鈥渓aunch pad for change,鈥� a way to harness the incredible wealth of faculty knowledge across all three campuses to offer students more than ever before.

Dr. Melvin believes that creating a distinct School of Education gives students a stronger sense of identity and belonging. 鈥淭hey know they're part of the School of Education. There's ownership there,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd I think when there's ownership, you buy into that and the results are tenfold.鈥� This sense of community, combined with early outreach programs like Rural Teach and micro-credentialing partnerships with high schools, is creating a powerful pipeline of future educators who are excited and prepared.

For Dr. Melvin, the mission is simple yet profound. Her message to the hundreds of teachers she speaks to鈥攎any of them her former students鈥攊s always the same: 鈥淲hen you go into a classroom, be present. Don鈥檛 just show up鈥� and make relationships because those relationships are what you will carry with you the rest of your life.鈥� It鈥檚 a philosophy she has lived by for decades, and it鈥檚 one that students at 水多多导航 experience every day through dedicated faculty who are committed not just to teaching, but to transforming lives.