Mel Therese graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a double major in Global Media Management and Theater. (She was also accepted into every single University of California school, including UCLA). Her essays helped her garner thousands of dollars in academic scholarships, including the Regents Scholarship, the most prestigious scholarship awarded to UC undergraduate students.
Privately tutoring students for over 10 years now in addition to working for academic and SAT preparatory centers like Kumon Math & Reading and Prestige Academy, Mel started ABOVE & BEYOND TUTORS, utilizing her unique, two-pronged approach based in MASTERY and MINDSET. Many of her students have increased their SAT scores by hundreds of points and have gone on to attend 4-year universities such as UC Berkeley, NYU, Syracuse, Notre Dame, and more. She holds a 5.0/5.0 rating on WyzAnt Tutoring, the largest online tutoring platform in the United States and she received Wyzant’s TOP 10% TUTOR Award for 2020.
On the creative writing front, Mel has worked for Disney PIXAR, ABC, FOX, NBC, and VICE Media. These companies' primary role is to showcase personal, captivating stories, and she’s excited to share what she has learned from top-notch writers and storytellers.
As a Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) Mentor, it brings her immense joy to support high schoolers in their leadership development while give back to the academic community that has helped shaped who she is today.