As Middlesex prepares to celebrate the 40th reunion of its very first coeducational graduating class, it seemed fitting that the 2016 Bigelow Lecture should be given by one of the first young women to attend the School: Patricia Melton ’77. A dynamic, award-winning educator, Patricia is known for her reform work with communities, effectively forging pathways to college for underserved students. Her remarkable efforts epitomize the intent of Middlesex’s oldest lecture series, which was established 70 years ago to promote the virtues of public service in memory of Roger Clayland Bigelow ’44, who intended to pursue such a career path until his death on Iwo Jima in 1945.
Given Patricia’s own self-motivated journey from Cleveland, Ohio, to Middlesex and then Yale, she is ideally suited to help young people to attain a college degree. Not long after her mother died when Patricia was 12, she learned about Middlesex from a school friend, who put her in touch with Curtis Smith ’76, then a current student. “I started to exchange correspondence with Curtis,” Patricia recounted at the start of her talk, “and he told me about this place that was so unlike my school. I thought, ‘What do I have to do to get there?’”
With extraordinary initiative, Patricia gained acceptance to two boarding schools and secured a scholarship from A Better Chance that would enable her to attend one. Seeking a supportive place where she could adjust to new demands and develop her talents, she chose the smaller school – Middlesex – which she now considers “the most incredible experience of my life, one that set me up for what I do now.” Here, she reflected, the real meaning and value of “community” and “collaboration” were instilled. “Everything is preparation,” she stressed. “Some lessons might seem disconnected to you now, but everything you learn here will serve you in the future.”
Many of the most meaningful lessons took place on the athletic field. Though Patricia was not a runner at Middlesex, she was an outstanding athlete who earned nine varsity letters and was inducted into the School’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003. Primarily a sprinter at Yale, she was a seven-time individual Ivy League champion, a 1982 All-American, and an Olympic Trials 800-meter finalist in 1988.
In 1994, she became the youngest person – and first woman – to receive the Souders Award, given annually to a New England independent school graduate who has earned a distinguished record both athletically and professionally. These same qualifications subsequently brought her an NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in 2007 and a George H.W. Bush ’48 Lifetime of Leadership Award in 2013.
Within urban school districts as varied as Seattle, Boston, Cleveland, and Indianapolis, Patricia has endeavored to inspire and help students to become college graduates. Now the executive director of New Haven Promise, she oversees this place-based scholarship program that was collaboratively created by the City of New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University, and The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
Offering the incentive of funding for college, New Haven Promise challenges students to earn a B average and complete 40 hours of community service. Last year, Patricia said, at least 250 students met these goals and qualified for scholarships – and the assistance will not end there. Going forward, New Haven Promise will continue to monitor and support its scholarship recipients to help ensure their success in college and in launching a career, essentially providing them with a community that they can turn to along the way.
“This is incredible work, and I enjoy doing it,” Patricia affirmed. “Our scholars will change the city. Whatever you choose to do, bring that same heart and soul to it, and you will make a difference.”