“People to People builds leaders” like journalism student Melissa Noel
Although it’s been eight years since Melissa Noel traveled to Europe as a Student Ambassador, her experience continues to inspire her to make a difference. As a senior at Howard University, where she studies journalism, Melissa has built upon her People to People experience by interning at BBC World, NBC Universal, PBS, and several other news outlets. “My travel experience really opened my eyes. That’s really where my love for things international came from,” she says.
After traveling as a Student Ambassador in seventh grade, Melissa continued to keep in touch with her Ambassador friends and delegation leaders. Her leaders wrote her letters of recommendation for her college application, and she and her friends plan to stay involved with People to People in the future. “We still talk about applying for an alumni trip or becoming delegation leaders,” she says.
For now, though, Melissa is confidently approaching graduation this spring, thanks in part to her Student Ambassador program. “People to People really has shaped the type of person I am today. The principles we learned in our monthly meetings, the people that I met… I don’t think you can get that experience all together in one without People to People. I just don’t think so,” she says.
Those principles Melissa learned back in seventh grade led her all the way to the
White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in May 2009, where Michelle Obama presented her with a $7,000 scholarship toward her journalism studies at Howard.
“I was struck speechless. It’s still kind of surreal,” she says.
Melissa had applied her sophomore year and didn’t receive the scholarship. “I just told myself, I’ll work on it and keep trying.”
Melissa credits her Mediterranean Discovery program for giving her that sense of perseverance, as well as helping her defeat shyness. “The program basically got me out of my shell,” she says. “I was able to be comfortable in myself and in different settings.”
Lynette Noel, Melissa’s mother, decided to become a delegation leader after Melissa’s experience with People to People. Lynette tells her delegates the same thing Melissa heard from her leader years ago: “Just because it’s different, it doesn’t mean it’s bad.”
“I still think about that when I’m trying to decide how to approach a story as a writer, or a news package in broadcasting. You may not have to like it, but you don’t have to be afraid of it. That’s something I was told when I was 12, and I’m 21 now. That’s stuck with me all these years,” Melissa says, laughing.
After graduation, Melissa plans to seek employment in broadcasting, possibly in the NBC Universal Early Careers program. And eventually, she hopes to revisit People to People. “People to People builds leaders. I’m looking forward to giving back to the program in the future,” she says.
