Ms. Melissa is beginning her sixth season with the Cougarettes and fourth as Director. As a coach and mentor she places high value on poise, discipline, precision and teamwork all within a fun and encouraging atmosphere for her students. She loves being able to teach the Cougarettes to give glory to the Lord through dance while promoting GCS school spirit and representing our school and community well. She is proud of the continued growth and success of the program, which has improved each year and achieved back-to-back top 5 finishes at the TAPPS State Dance Championships — the highest placements in program history. In addition to the team’s progress, she has coached individual dancers in winning back-to-back State High Kick championships, as well as several members earning spots on TAPPS All-State teams year over year and then continuing their dance careers in college. 

Melissa grew up in a small town northeast of Dallas and was a studio-trained dancer from a young age. She discovered her passion for drill team in school and was a junior 1st Lieutenant and senior Head Dance Captain of her high school drill team. She then continued her dance career at the collegiate level as a member of the Tyler Junior College Apache Belles from 1999 – 2001 under the direction of Ruth Flynn. As an Apache Belle, she traveled and performed internationally – most notably in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Lord Mayor’s Ball in Dublin, Ireland. Other performance credits include Dallas Cowboys pre-games and halftime shows, a featured appearance on the television show Texas Country Reporter, Houston’s Bank of America Thanksgiving Day Parades, Tyler Rose Parades, and performances at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Melissa was honored to serve as Chaplain her sophomore year of Apache Belles. Throughout her dance career, she consistently received both personal and team top honors, awards and scholarships throughout camps, competitions and conventions. 

Following her time at TJC, Melissa attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Public Relations. After college, she lived in Houston and Dallas for 10 years before returning to East Texas with her family in 2013. Melissa brings her writing and communications expertise to multiple roles. In addition to directing the Cougarettes, she works as a technical grant writer and strategist for a social impact consulting firm and writes for various publications and freelance clients. She also coordinates the Grace Community School Athletic Newsletter and the Fall Sports Program. Melissa attends Grace Community Church – UB Campus. Her daughters, Caroline and Natalie, are students at Grace Community School and are active in both athletics and fine arts programs.