From Aspiring Chef to Journalist Meramec Alum: Melissa Wilkinson

MORGAN DANIELS STAFF

Sometimes students go into college thinking they know what they want to study and where they expect to be five to 10 years later. However, passions change, and new experiences expose them to areas of study beyond their imagination. For Melissa Wilkinson, changing paths was her best decision. Wilkinson graduated from Ladue Horton Watkins High School in 2012 and traveled east to attend Cornell University’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration. There she partook in a collaborative degree program with The Culinary Institute of America and graduated with an associate in culinary arts and a bachelor’s in hotel administration.

Within reach of her childhood dream to become a chef and own a restaurant, Wilkinson realized the culinary arts scene wasn’t the path for her–her personality didn’t quite mesh with restaurant culture. Determined to do work related to the culinary arts, Wilkinson sought visual design experience to design restaurant menus and logos. She returned home in 2016 to enroll at St. Louis Community College to earn an associate’s in graphic communications at Meramec.

The transition from an Ivy League university to a local community college was an adjustment, but Wilkinson found the Meramec campus refreshing. There were various individuals from all walks of life, and she appreciated her professor’s dedication to student learning. Wilkinson developed a close relationship with graphic communications professor Michael Swoboda. She respected his bluntness and honest feedback. “He is one of those teachers that will say it like it is. I feel like in an industry such as art, sometimes people are too worried about your feelings to give honest feedback,” she said. Swoboda challenged her to become a stronger designer, which she admired most about him as a professor.

Wilkinson also joined Meramec’s student newspaper, The Montage. A classmate in one of her graphic design courses approached her one day and invited her to a meeting. Interested, Wilkinson went and started as a staff writer covering news stories and highlighting campus events. It wasn’t until she and former staff member Noah Sliney attended a Board of Trustees meeting on October 20, 2017, that she realized journalism was the path for her. The two watched what they assumed was an ordinary meeting until a police officer sprang into defense and detained an agitated professor. The thrill and fast-paced nature of news reporting lured Wilkinson in and officially shifted her focus to journalism. Wilkinson’s story “Board of Trustees meeting turns violent” remains one of the most popular stories written for The Montage.

Near the beginning of 2018, Wilkinson took on a leadership role as Editor-in-Chief for The Montage, where she managed a team of staff writers and prepared issues for monthly publication. Despite not having a formal education in journalism, Wilkinson’s writing skills and practice at the Montage allowed her to make mistakes and learn from them. “If I hadn’t done the Montage, I would certainly not know what I was doing. The Montage is a great resource for making you feel like a journalist because that’s what you are doing. You’re getting a hands-on look at what it’s like,” she said. Her experience with the student newspaper allowed her to intern for the Webster-Kirkwood Times in the summer of 2018.

Following her internship, the Breese Journal, a rural newspaper and publishing company in Illinois, hired her as editor. After a year with the company, Wilkinson returned to the Webster-Kirkwood Times and assumed a staff writer position. In 2021, she started working full-time as Associate Editor and has been with them since. Wilkinson said she loves the community at the Times office and intends to stay with them through her journalism career. She also owns a small craft business selling buttons, keychains, and other crafts on Etsy and at art conventions around the Midwest.

Wilkinson shared she is fortunate that her job allows her to manage her business and travel. “This is ideal, and I refuse to find anything else again,” she said.

Wilkinson said she appreciates that she had financially supportive backing and could afford additional education following an expensive undergraduate degree. She recognizes her and her family’s privilege in being able to change paths. Nevertheless, she supports the value and flexibility of a community college education. “Go to a community college first,” she said, “get your associates, and then transfer if you decide you want to study something else or continue your education.”

From an aspiring chef to journalist and owner of a small art business, one of the biggest takeaways from Wilkinson’s early stages of adulthood is not to be afraid of switching paths. She was grateful for her father’s love for learning and encouragement as she continued her education. Without his support, she might’ve continued with culinary school instead of trying something different. “If I stubbornly remained on the culinary track, I would be miserable. In the long run, it is so much easier to say I’ve tried it, I didn’t like it, and try something else. You don’t want to be locked into something because you’re too stubborn to admit you don’t enjoy it,” she shared.

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