Melisa Hypolite
CollegeBound Foundation
Baltimore, MD USA
"We can’t all individually change the world...find out what your part is."
Career Roadmap
Melisa's work combines: Education, Non-Profit Organizations, and Helping People
See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.
Take Roadmap Quiz
Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
I ended up only applying to one college and luckily got in. Once there, I found the support from professors and faculty that I had been missing. Their guidance pushed me through to graduation.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Public Relations/Image Management
Morgan State University
Graduate Degree
Business Administration and Management, General
University of Maryland-University College
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Was born in Trinidad, West Indies; later moved with her siblings to Philadelphia, PA, to live with her father, leaving her mother behind in Trinidad.
2.
Admits that this transition was really hard on her—not only did she have to adapt to a new culture, but she also had to adjust to living without her mother around.
3.
In high school, she struggled and her GPA showed it—admits that she didn’t really have any college plans and was told that because of her grades she could only get into a community college.
4.
Not knowing what her options were and lacking any guidance, she only applied to one college and got in.
5.
Once in college, she found the support structure that she had been lacking—some professors took an interest in first-generation college students and provided additional emotional support.
6.
Used her degree in communications to begin working in television at Nielsen, the TV ratings company, but quickly got bored with it—bounced around jobs from leasing, sales, and school counseling.
7.
While working as a school counselor, she found that her passion was in helping students get to college and change their lives.
8.
She now works for the CollegeBound Foundation, guiding people in their pursuit of higher education; she’s also the author of “I’m Ready,” a guidebook for college and career readiness.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Teachers:
Your grades are bad so you are only going to get into a community college.
How I responded:
I ended up only applying to one college and luckily got in. Once there, I found the support from professors and faculty that I had been missing. Their guidance pushed me through to graduation.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I didn't know we didn't have much until I became an adult. When I was growing up, things that we had/didn't have was just our normal. I have also struggled with student loan debt.
I applied to one college, Morgan State University. I took out loans to finance it. My professors took a special interest in first generation college kids, so they provided the additional structural and emotional support we needed.
I left Trinidad and came to the US when I was eight. We had to come without my mother and live with our dad. I had to adjust to a new culture, new food, changing seasons and not having my mother there to walk me to school.