Melissa Calabrese, MA

Through her work with the Center for Community Engagement (CCE), Melissa Calabrese supports faculty, staff, and students as they develop, implement, and evaluate their academic engagement with community partners. She facilitates academic community engagement workshops, supports the Service-Learning Faculty Advisory Committee, creates newsletters and Impact Reports, and finds and develops resources as needed. In addition, Melissa works with CCE team members to coordinate celebrations for students and staff engaged in community work.

Melissa Calabrese enjoys her position at the Center for Community Engagement which allows her to work with WVU faculty, students, and community members. She is passionate about promoting healthy communities through positive student development, and she is grateful to have the opportunity to work with a dynamic network of motivated and creative individuals. Melissa is committed to collaborative relationships, equitable teaching practices, and civic engagement.    

Melissa holds a Master of Arts degree with a specialized focus in Higher Education, K-12 leadership, and research and evaluation from Eastern Michigan University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Rutgers University. Some of her professional experiences include working as a 21st CCLC program coordinator, GEAR UP Site Director, and a New Student College Advisor. Melissa is a certified trainer of Youth Work Methods with the David. P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, and is also a Critical Friends Group coach with the National School Reform Faculty. She has developed and delivered workshops on topics such as embedding social-emotional learning in classrooms, and using design thinking processes for project-based learning. She has facilitated team initiatives, taught nutrition and water conservation, offered STEAM activities, and supported PhotoVoice projects with community members through programs such as NJPIRG, AmeriCorps, PBS, and the Chai Project.    

Outside of her work at WVU, Melissa is passionate about exploring the woods, riding her bike, getting lost in a book, and spending quality time with her family.

Contact Melissa to learn more about:  

• Resources for your community-engaged course or research  
• How to learn about and prepare your students for community engagement work  

• Ideas for engaging a group of service-learning students associated with a WVU academic course 

• How to connect with community partners for engaged scholarship that align with your academic interests 

• Matching your service or research interests with a WVU faculty member 

• Funding opportunities for academic community-engaged projects  

• Opportunities to disseminate engaged scholarship