SciTech Alumni - Melissa L. Baker
Name:
Baker, Melissa L.
Class Year:
1999
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Major:
Biology
Hometown:
Bridgeport, W.Va.
Biography:
After graduating from Fairmont State, I took a job at a company in the high-tech corridor, for which I’d been interning my senior year. I had immediate experience with project management of scientific research projects. About a year later, I began massage therapy school, which really built on my knowledge of biology and health of the human body. For more than five years, I practiced massage therapy in Fairmont. During this time, my experience of health and how to maintain balance in the body increased. I learned many different complementary and alternative techniques that are just now being scientifically researched in order to prove their efficacy. It came very naturally during this time to educate the public via seminars and classes in stress management and relaxation techniques. Now, I am accepted into graduate school at West Virginia University and will begin a program to receive a master’s in public health in January 2006. All of these changes are part of my career in educating the public about holistic health services so they may live up to their highest potential. And all of this started with a solid foundation of biology.
What advice would you give current or prospective students?:
As a student who passed up a big league school to attend Fairmont State, I can most certainly verify that great students can go through less-well-known schools and still give themselves fantastic educational experiences. The size of the departments makes it easy to really learn from professors and develop personal relationships with them. So, my advice is to consider Fairmont State as well as to take full advantage of the learning opportunities available (both in classrooms and outside).
What was the most important thing you learned while attending Fairmont State?:
I learned that I really am capable of great achievements, no matter how small the school or what my grade is in every single class. I learned more than information and statistics at Fairmont State. I learned to take risks and move beyond my boundaries.
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