Staff Sergeant Melody Corbitt

As a 17 year old high school junior, Staff Sergeant Melody Corbittenlisted in the United States Army Reserve because of the opportunity to serve her country while obtaining a college education. During her 8 years of service, she traveled to several locations near and abroad, culminating in 2003 when she was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom.

Placing her academic career on hold, Melody entered this tour ready to learn as an active duty soldier. It was her experience while deployed –tossing her into such a quick-thinking environment –that would end up making her more mature, responsible and appreciative of those who served before her. After being promoted twice over a two year period because of her leadership ability and work ethic, Melody left the service to pursue graduate studies.

In 2008, she started graduate school to pursue a degree in food science, and perform research into enhanced bio-functionality and antimicrobial activity of naturally derived fruit component. As a co-author of several published articles, Melody is well on her way to graduating and hopes to one day work for an employer in the area of quality assurance.