Two influences that Melanie will never forget were the Christian Science Sunday School and a mom who turned to prayer and encouraged her to do the same. These influences showed her something of the reliability of God and spiritual inspiration, and trusting this helped her find her way growing up. Significant healing experiences with relationship and food issues, and violence in the community, were also unforgettable. From this, Melanie got an idea of the many ways that Christian Science can transform lives.

After finishing a doctorate in mathematics, Melanie became a college professor and truly enjoyed teaching. She found that teaching was less about telling students something than facilitating the students’ discoveries of new concepts. There was nothing better than witnessing a reluctant student realize that a previously mystifying concept was actually within reach to anyone.

But the higher promise of Christian Science beckoned her to help people redeem and uplift their lives in a fuller way. When students came to her office for help with calculus, Melanie and her students often found themselves talking about the joy and excitement of growing spirituality.  After just two years at the college, Melanie resigned from her position and began accepting calls as a Christian Science practitioner. She wrote articles for the Christian Science periodicals, was a frequent guest on Sentinel radio, and began advertising her practice in The Christian Science Journal in 2004. She and her husband also started a family.

Melanie loves working from her home office in the Los Angeles area. She likes to see lives transformed by the healing ideas of Christian Science, where we ourselves are helped and, at the same time, find we can help others. Her life as a mom has a lot of the same focus. And whether the spiritual ideas apply to health issues, school, social lives, or sports, her three kids push her to “keep it real.”