Like thousands of college seniors across the country, Melissa García is anxiously awaiting the results of her law school applications. But she has little time to spend worrying when those important envelopes will arrive.

As she has done every semester since her freshman year at the University of South Carolina, Melissa maintains both a daunting academic course load and a number of activities that mark her as an influential student leader on our campus. In her final semester, this Criminology and Criminal Justice major is busy debating legal and public policy issues in her senior courses, as well as completing the exhaustive research that will inform her senior thesis on the use of tasers in law enforcement.

Melissa has distinguished herself among the many talented students in the College of Arts and Sciences by integrating her academic interests with her out-of-class activities. Among these, perhaps the most significant is the Student Judicial Council, the University's student board that hears disciplinary cases and works to promote ethical decision-making, behavior, and values in all aspects of student life. As the vice president of the council, Melissa has been a leader in this effort.

Most recently, Melissa has served on the Academic Integrity Task Force, a group of faculty, students, and administrators charged with reinvigorating and renewing the University's commitment to academic honesty. Long and painstaking has been the process of redeveloping the University's code of academic integrity, its procedures for dealing with infractions such as plagiarism and cheating, and initiatives to foster a heightened awareness of the code and the values it represents. Melissa has certainly taken her own advice to other students "to make your education not just about course work, but about an exploration of yourself and your potential as a leader."

The daughter of Silio and Maritza García of North Charleston, SC, Melissa has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards at the University. She is a member of the South Carolina Honors College, last year's winner of the Rising Senior Award for the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, winner of the Golden Key Carolinian Creed Award, and she has been named the Carolina Student Judicial Council Executive Member of the Year.

If her college career is any indication, Melissa's future achievements will be considerable indeed. For her numerous academic accomplishments, her leadership, and her commitment to excellence and integrity, the College of Arts and Sciences is proud to name Melissa García as our student of the month for February 2007.

Back to Archive