Common text inspires educator

When Melissa Molyneux ’15 read Little Princes in Gen 100 her first semester at Malone, her life was changed forever. The book detailed Conor Grennan’s volunteer work in an orphanage in Nepal, and what began as a three month stint led to a mission of reuniting trafficked children with their families. The book was the first time she’d heard about Nepal or its issue of “lost children.”  She was fascinated, and began learning all she could about immigration and refugees, something she didn’t have the opportunity to do before college.



She now teaches Spanish for Akron Public Schools, where nearly half of her students are refugees from... Nepal! She also teaches immigrants and refugees from 20 other countries, as well as American students.



“I wanted to work here specifically for this diverse population,” Molyneux said.
Molyneux came to Malone from Florida, and heard about it from her favorite high school teacher, also a Malone graduate.

 Malone professors, too, had a tremendous impact on her life.



“I really loved Dr. Parson’s Essay Writing class - I didn’t realize how much I loved to read and write until I took this class, and Cherie made it really fun,” she said. “Marcia Everett has been one of my most significant role models. I met her in groups class, which was an instant challenge for me because I'm a really shy person. However, she constantly encouraged me and challenged me. She helped me find the confidence I needed to speak up and have a voice, which has carried over to every part of my life now. I hope that I can be encouraging and challenging to my students the way she was when I was her student.” 



Molyneux enjoys teaching Spanish to immigrant students, even as some are learning English for the first time.

“It’s fun teaching Spanish to these students because many of them are already fluent in two or three other languages," she said. 

As a lifelong student, she said she will forever be grateful for her college education:

“Thank you, Malone, for truly putting ‘Christ’s Kingdom First’ as the lens for which everything is taught and opening my eyes to real world issues.”