Skip to main content
NACE25 Conference & Expo Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Melanie Duran

Program Manager, Career Exploration
Texas A&M University Kingsville, United States

Melanie Duran is a certified school principal, Gallup- Certified Strengths Coach, and career coach, brings over 10 years to education and is currently a doctoral student researching the impact of a strengths-based approach. Growing up in a border town, Melanie experienced first-hand the unique challenges faced by underrepresented communities, especially Hispanic and low-income students. Beginning her career in a kindergarten classroom, Melanie developed a foundation that allows her to connect with students at every stage of their educational journey. Her experience in early education provided insight into the importance of nurturing foundational skills, fostering self-efficacy, and supporting students in understanding their potential from a young age. These early years gave her a unique perspective on the value of building essential competencies that support students academically and personally through higher education and beyond.

Currently, Melanie serves as a Program Manager for a federally grant - The Hispanic Education Advising Remediation Teaching (HEART) Project at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, a Hispanic Serving Institute. In her role, she serves as the lead for Career Exploration and Development, provides wrap-around career support to Hispanic and low-income STEM students, helping them develop the skills, self-efficacy, and confidence they need for long-term success. Her role also includes creating curriculum for a Summer Bridge program designed to ease the transition to college with a strengths-based approach and has embedded the framework in the university’s freshman seminar course. Additionally, Melanie designs professional development curriculum for The HEART Peer Mentoring Program. Her approach in designing professional development curriculum for peer mentors highlights creating experiential learning opportunities that enhance both the mentors' competency articulation skills and their ability to support student growth effectively while advancing their own professional growth.

Melanie is driven to guide students in building critical career competencies, from communication to teamwork and leadership. By combining strengths with career readiness, she ensures that all students are equipped with a well-rounded skill set that prepares them for a competitive workforce. She is passionate about guiding all students to not only reframes self-doubt into self-efficacy but also builds resilience, enabling them to tackle academic and career challenges with confidence.

Disclosure information not submitted.

Presentation(s):