Difference Makers
UM-Dearborn Difference Makers are at the forefront of their fields. They’re improving the lives of others and making an impact on campus and in our local communities.
Melissa Monier brings passion and energy to everything she does.
Melissa joined the Blueprints Leadership program and helped organize volunteer events at local soup kitchens and shelters, along with hosting a winter clothing drive for Cass Community Center in Detroit.
“I am always looking for ways to serve the community,” she said.
Throughout her time at UM-Dearborn, she’s done just that.
She created her own vision project through Blueprints, where she focused on inclusiveness and the LGBTQIA community and created an ad campaign to be displayed on campus promoting social justice and equal treatment of students of all backgrounds.
“Melissa brings energy and passion to everything she does, including her work on campus,” said Amy Karaban Finley, assistant director for civic engagement. “Melissa’s commitment to LGBTQ youth, to volunteer service and to building community are emblematic of the type of student we love at UM-Dearborn.”
She has represented University of Michigan-Dearborn at Motor City Pride—metro Detroit’s LBGTQ Festival—where she promoted the university’s inclusion initiatives, and has served on the planning committee for this year’s Coming Out Day as well as Transgender Day of Remembrance. She also created a new student organization, Pegasus, on campus with fellow Difference Maker Kathryn Thomas.
“I wanted to create a safe space for students of the LGBT community and their allies that did not center around political affiliations or opinions,” she said.
Melissa plans on having a career in communications and hopes to work in an advertising firm. “My goals are to continue to stand for what I believe in and work for social equality.,” she said.
