Melisa Rose Beecher - B.S. Biology Secondary Education 7-12 - Southern Connecticut State University Class of 2021

Melisa Rose Beecher

B.S. Biology Secondary Education 7-12

Promising Future Educator Book Award in Biology

Hello fellow Owls! I can’t believe that to think, 4 years ago, we came to campus, standing on the quad, not knowing ANYONE except those we came from high school with, and now we are all graduating. It has been a wild ride with many ups and downs. No one ever said college would be easy, but we did it! And even with many sleepless nights, countless crying fits hours before finals, and 101 Blackboard malfunctions, it was worth it! We didn’t know it at the time, but all the ProCon events, Top Owl cookie parties, and Student Appreciation week events made us countless memories that we will have forever. No matter where life takes us, we’ll always have a place to call home. No matter what, we are all apart of our ONE Southern, Owl Nation of Owls Helping Owls! Congratulations Owl Nation, we did it! 💙🦉💙

Favorite Time at SCSU

My Favorite part of SCSU was getting to be involved in countless programs, jobs, activities and events. I met and networked with so many people, it’s hard to keep track. But my most favorite part of being an Owl, was getting to work in the Werth Center for Coastal and Marine Studies. I never thought I would feel like I had a home again after leaving my lab back in high school. But Dr. Grace took me under his wing Freshmen year and the rest was history. He then introduced me to Dr. Breslin who helped me develop new skills sets for working in a marine wet lab. And who could forget about getting to go Scuba Diving with Dr. Grace back at the place where I first got open water Scuba certified! It was like a dream come true. If there are any faculty members who made my time at Southern more enjoyable then working in the lab, it was Dr. Breslin and Dr. Grace. Tanks to you two!🐠

What are you going to miss the most, and what are you looking forward to the most?

I think it is safe to say that I am going to immensely miss my lab and all my fishies. Especially Ben and Jerry, my amazing horseshoe crabs who listened to every horrible exam and quiz I had over the past 4 years. I am also going to miss being on campus. There were days where I would come to campus at 7am and not leave until 10 pm. I can safely say I have explored ALL portions of campus. I made a lot of good memories on campus that will stay with me for the rest of my life!

Advice to Incoming Students

Advice for incoming students? DON’T WORRY! Everyone takes different paths, even if you take a winding road to get to the SAME destination as your friend, you still got there! The journey is half the fun, make the most of it!

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