Like her Hidden Figures heroes, Mellanie ’25 has an affinity for STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math—from the robots she builds for fun to the math classroom that became a treasured space in Commonwealth’s building to the Saturn necklace she wears. That passion partly fueled her recent return to her middle school in Chelsea, Massachusetts, where she spent a week aiding students in math and science classes. The visit also reminded Mellanie how far she had come and why it’s so important for schools to be well resourced and teachers to get the support they need. And she left with an even deeper commitment to working toward better outcomes for all students (which is why she plans to return to the school this spring!). Keep reading to learn more about Mellanie, what motivates her, and what it means to help students “amplify their imagination.” 

Getting to Know You

What is bringing you joy right now? 

Seeing my little brother, Josué, grow up. He's four and learning how to count right now. 

That and also learning a new programming language, C++. So far I have coded a quadratic formula machine: you put in the A value and the B value and the C value, and then the machine gives you the two solutions you need even if the solutions are imaginary.

What is your favorite book (or a book you’ve re-read)? 

Probably Hidden Figures [by Margot Lee Shetterly], because it talks about women of color, and I'm a woman of color. It's very inspiring to read a book where women sacrificed in their fields, but they got over the struggles. They were very strong.

What do you think is the most intriguing paradox? 

Albert Einstein’s twin paradox, because it would prove the theory of special relativity. It’s where one twin travels to space and the one who stays on earth is going to be older than his twin because of time and space travel.

What are your favorite comfort foods? 

Well, my mom makes the best food ever! My favorite meal that she makes for me are pupusas, which are very popular in El Salvador, where my family is from!

What was/is your favorite class (at Commonwealth or elsewhere)? 

Hmm, that’s hard. I like all my classes here at Commonwealth because I learn a lot. But I think it's between geometry and biology. Biology is very hard, but it's a class where you get to explore lots of things. That's what I really like about geometry, too; it's lots of logic and puzzles. It's very interesting to see how you can prove things you thought were very easy to understand at first, but then they become more complex once you're writing proofs. 

Pen or pencil? 

Mechanical pencils, because you don't need to look for a sharpener and they last a little bit longer.

Life as a Commonwealth Student (and Beyond)

You recently spent your Project Week teaching at your old middle school; what was that experience like?

My project was working back in Chelsea, helping fifth and eighth graders in both math and science. 

When I was in middle school, I saw lots of people struggling with the material. Teachers would have about 200 students in each grade. They didn’t have time to get to everything, and at the end of the year, they would try to squish it all in—but people would forget the next year. I wanted to go back to help other kids. It never was a struggle for me to learn stuff, because I always studied by myself. And that's why I'm in the classes I am in here at Commonwealth.

I started with the science classes for fifth graders. My sister [Jessica] is a fifth grader, so I got to experience how people her age think and how they're different from her. You also see how they struggle, which is somewhat different from the eighth graders struggle. The fifth graders ask more questions. They're more open, and they have bigger imaginations. It was pretty fun to work with them. As for the eighth graders, they were more stubborn in a lot of areas, but I tried to amplify their imagination, especially in matters of science. 

What does “amplifying their imagination” look like?

For me that phrase means helping students get more interested in learning things and curious about what they have around them. Lots of people just live inside the four walls they have around them and don't look beyond that. And I know that in Chelsea, it's tougher because some kids have really hard situations at home. So I wanted to help them think beyond what they see to success they haven't imagined for themselves yet. It's very hard to do all of that in one week. I'm actually planning to use my March break to go back and help again. Talking to other kids in Chelsea about Commonwealth was something else I wanted to do, because I know that lots of them don't have the opportunity to go to a great school like this.  

What was the biggest takeaway from your project?

Well, before I kind of was struggling with believing in myself. I saw so many intelligent people here at Commonwealth, and I underestimated my intelligence. When I went back to my old school, I was reminded of the reasons why I came here. Part of my motivation is my family and part of it is myself. And I feel better now, because I know why I'm here: I didn't come here to be better than others; I came here to improve myself.

What was your first impression of Commonwealth and how has it mapped to your experience? 

When I first came to Commonwealth, I was a little scared because the environment was very different. Like, I was used to coming to school and hearing people speaking in Spanish. But when I came here, the people and the culture were different. I liked it and I disliked it at the same time. But I found people that had my interests, and I got used to the culture. Another reason why I came here is because I wanted to mix myself with other cultures, and in this school, there's lots of people from different places. So far I’ve met people who speak Hindi and learned a little bit more about Chinese culture and others. And it has been a very interesting experience.

How do you spend your time outside of Commonwealth?

I used to take karate, and I still practice on Fridays, when I have more free time, with Jessica. Both of us are Black Belts!

I like to build robots, too, and mess around with things. I have always wanted to be an engineer since I was in third grade. I actually almost burned down the house trying to solder a cable in a circuit board that I was building! Luckily it was winter and I just threw it into the snow. 

How has your Commonwealth experience colored the way you look at the world? 

Commonwealth has shown me how people with more [formal] education think about things, and how it's a little bit different from people who have had a limited education. I know both sides of the road now. My mom didn't graduate college because she decided to run a restaurant in El Salvador. And my dad didn't finish because of violence in the country. My grandma only went to school through third grade. So I know my family is very proud of me for coming to Commonwealth!

What’s your advice for students considering Commonwealth? 

My advice would be to push themselves to learn more outside of school. Read and study things that they think might be helpful before coming here. I studied algebra by myself, and that’s been helpful. At my old school they didn't really teach algebra in eighth grade; the teacher said that they didn't have enough resources. To see what I needed to learn, I made connections with some teachers here at Commonwealth, which was really helpful because they are excellent teachers and taught me things I didn’t think I could learn by myself. I also studied very hard to get into classes such as geometry. Without these amazing connections I made with teachers before I started Commonwealth or even not studying any material that I knew I needed, my classes and life at Commonwealth would probably look very different from what it is in the present.  

Anything you’d like to add?

I’d say that students should always keep in mind that sometimes they need ambition and not necessarily intelligence. Ambition is what pushes you forward to do incredible things, no matter what your grades are or the thoughts you have about yourself. Ambition is the motive for everything in life, and it takes you to places you might never imagine yourself to be in before.

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