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New Castle Center Mourns Loss of Center Director For more than 15 years, Melissa Merritt served as the Director of the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Western Pennsylvania in New Castle, Pennsylvania. There, she dedicated her life to helping students with dyslexia discover their passions for reading and writing, and to training dozens of educators throughout her community. As Director, Melissa was known for her compassion and unfailing dedication to those she served at the Center. “We always knew that she was in our corner and would do anything she could to help us,” said Elise Orazem,
the current Director of the Western Pennsylvania Center, who had spent the last two years as Co-Director with Merritt. “She really made us into a family.” Adding, “She never met a stranger. She was likeable and approachable.” Melissa was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016. Even as it eventually metastasized to her bones, requiring her to undergo multiple procedures and leading to painful breaks, it never kept her out of the Center for long. “I can’t even tell you how many surgeries she had Melissa in Maine
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over the past four years. Maybe 20? Her leg would break, her shoulder would break, her neck broke. The crazy thing was that she would have surgery and three days later she would be like, ‘Okay, I’m going to the bank and then I’ll be in the Center.’ And she’d be in here with crutches and a wheelchair, a cast, and braces— all kinds of things. She was just unstoppable,” Orazem said.
She loved being here. She loved seeing the families, seeing the students and being in touch with the tutors. She was so positive this fall. One of Melissa’s most ambitious projects focused on the development of new and improved student notebooks that would allow for greater consistency and guidance across lessons. Even as she struggled through multiple surgeries and hospitalizations, she continued to research and improve on these notebooks so that every student could have access to the same quality of materials. Unfortunately, the project stalled at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and remained unfinished throughout. “It frustrated her, and she frequently mentioned that when we were back in-person, this project needed to be
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