• C3WP Teaching Award  2018​
• NCTE Leadership Development Award 2019​
• NeWP Service Learning Institute 2016​
• NeWP Argument Institute 2017​

When asked how the Nebraska Writing Project has helped her achieve her professional goals, Melissa replied, “The NeWP is the single most transformative professional development program that I’ve done. The most impactful classes that I took to earn my master’s degree came through the Summer Institute and the Advanced Institutes I attended afterwards. I owe to NeWP all the confidence I feel in my ability to teach writing and to be creative in the ways that I choose to do so. The impact of these Institutes on my teaching will never really end. I now feel connected to a network of professionals who are passionate and highly skilled, which pushes me in directions that I never would have reached without the Nebraska Writing Project." Melissa is actively involved in her school’s Teaching Advisory Board and is currently facilitating an embedded C3WP Institute there.