Melanie Buchleiter

Background

About Melanie Buchleiter

I am always looking for opportunities for growth, both informal & formal. As a scholar/practitioner, I continually learn & refine new skills in all areas of my life, drawing from the experience & wisdom of my peers, students, mentors, community members, family & friends. As part of this life-long pursuit of learning, I have altered my career & am now working full-time in the higher education sector. The decades of nonprofit sector work I have done helped me identify a core life goal: I am driven to see people succeed. As such the move to higher education is a natural path. As a nonprofit professional I developed lasting relationships through a commitment to community, building collaborations & partnerships; I Listened to needs & developed strategic plans & tactical solutions. Working in higher Ed, I utilize the same skills every day. The difference is that now I apply those skills to help to develop human beings that achieve their own self-determined success. As Justin Trudeau said, “A good teacher isn’t someone who gives the answers to their kids but is understanding of needs & challenges & gives tools to help other people succeed.” I know that my own success has come from other people’s investment in my development, & as such, I have a moral obligation to invest in others. Utilizing a non-dominant worldview, my strength as an instructor lies in my ability to recognize & work with the individual learning style of my students as they are, while still helping them determine & achieve their academic goals. Not every student will earn an “A”, but every student can learn & grow from a course. In my experience, the student that earns a “C “, or even fails a class, is often the student that has learned the most from that class. As an instructor, it is my responsibility to help those students see how much growth has taken place. As a mentor, I seek to equip my students to be successful as defined by who they are and how they have grown, beyond focusing exclusively on “success” as measured by a letter grade. I strive to provide a welcoming space focused on individual growth, acceptance and a love of life-long learning.