Today, Green's son is in his high school's gifted program, and earlier this year she was awarded one of the most esteemed honors in local education: the Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year Award. Green, who teaches emotionally disturbed children at Centennial Middle School, is the first FIU alumnus from the College of Education (1993) to receive this distinction.

Not bad for a "problem child" who once dropped out of college to become a free spirit who survived by working as a freelance writer, dress designer, librarian, political activist and accounting clerk among other things. But regardless of her job at any given time, she has always been a teacher.

"When I was younger, I never recognized my desire to teach in a formal way," she commented, "but, nevertheless, throughout my life I have always been a teacher."

An exceptionally bright child, Green was one of the first students to participate in the Dade County School System's newly instituted "gifted" program in the '60s. By the time she was in second grade, she was the teacher's assistant, tutoring other students and even being a "little teacher" for her younger brother. Her home life was equally nurturing, with two wonderful, caring parents who were attentive to the needs of their growing daughter.

But then her life derailed. She was sexually abused by a neighbor, and her mother became seriously ill with multiple sclerosis.

"Back then, these were troubles that no one wanted to talk about, no one knew quite how to deal with, and I was left with a lot of emotional scars," Green said. "So, even though I was still making straight A's, by the time I reached fifth grade I had been labeled as a `problem child.'"

She struggled through middle school, still in the gifted program and making top grades, but unsuccessful in managing her emotional turmoil. However, by high school she had regained some of her equilibrium and, after graduating with honors, she enrolled in a new and experimental psychology curriculum offered by Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC).

"But despite being an overachiever, I didn't have the discipline at that time to stay in the program, so I drifted away," she said.

Green moved to Los Angeles, working her way across the country by traveling with rock bands and penning freelance articles for entertainment magazines. She became politically active - joining the McGovern presidential campaign - and worked part-time as a library aide. In her spare time, she started designing costumes for local stage productions and eventually created and sold her own line of clothing.

"Working in the library, being around all those books, was what finally made me think about going back to school again," Green said. "From time to time I would request my transcripts from MDCC and try to apply to college. But since so many years had passed and because the program I was in had been very experimental, few of the credits transferred - so I would postpone applying for another year, and another, and another.

"Finally, I got a letter from MDCC because I had requested so many transcripts, and they said, in effect, that it was time for me to make a commitment."

So Green returned to her hometown of Miami to finish college, but her academic aspirations were put on hold one more time.

"When I found that my son was not receiving the quality of education that he should have, advocating for change became my full-time job," she said. "But I didn't have the knowledge or the background to be effective - so my ultimate motivation to go back to school I owe to my son and to my husband, who believed in me and told me hundreds of times that a mind is a terrible thing to waste."

Fifteen years after she had "dropped out" of college, Green re-enrolled in MDCC. Her first professor was Shirley Johnson, who at that time taught the "Introduction to Education" course.

"She inspired me so much. That's when I knew, finally, that I wanted to become a teacher. I went from being the `Mom from Hell' to a `Student with a Vengeance.'"

But if Johnson sparked Green's desire to teach, it was FIU professor Joseph Kaplan (who passed away in October) who stoked the fire.

"After my first test in his class, he told me that I did very well, and from that point on he became my mentor," Green said. "We still keep in contact and he remains one of my greatest inspirations.

"He taught me his own work ethic - that teaching is not a 9 to 5 job. You have to get out and do things, it's not enough to read journals. You have to volunteer and get involved, not only in the education community but in your own community."

A few months before she was due to graduate from FIU, however, Green's life was derailed once again: she was diagnosed with brain cancer. Her only hope was a dangerous operation in which doctors would have to enter her spinal column for a biopsy to rule out brain cancer. The prognosis was not promising: the operation would cure her, leave her paralyzed, or perhaps even kill her.

With indomitable courage, Green went ahead with the surgery. She woke up on March 15, 1998 - St. Patrick's Day - practically blind and paralyzed on her entire right side.

"I was horribly depressed at first, but then I heard a news report about a disaster where dozens of people had died, and I knew that I was lucky to be alive. I vowed that very morning that I would walk - literally walk - during commencement ceremonies in May," she said.

Green's overachiever attitude went into overdrive, and she performed her therapy strenuously, even taking dumbbells to work out extra hours throughout the night. Her blindness proved temporary, and her strength was slow in returning.

"I was worried that I would not be physically able to perform the job I had trained so long for," she explained. "Then I got a call from the dean of the College of Education who told me not to worry. He said, `We'll take care of you.' And the professors and the FIU community supported me so much that I was able to concentrate on getting well."

On April 27, 1998, Green arrived at Commencement in a wheelchair.

"But Joe Kaplan had set things up so that my chair was near the stage, and he had even arranged for a special usher to help me walk - if I could. I did. I walked across that stage. It took a long time, it was very painful, and I needed to lean on someone, but I walked all the way across. Actually, I was glad to sit back down after I got to the other side!" she remembers with a smile.

That kind of indomitable courage and resolve to never give up, no matter what the odds, characterizes Green's teaching style.

"I always remember my own experiences when I walk into a classroom," she said, "and I believe that helps me reach and motivate my students. My experiences have given me the perspective to understand the needs of my students. They have helped me develop the ability to look at a child who is struggling and suffering, and parents who are struggling, and to know how that feels, and to be able to go out there and get them the resources they need. I never give up on anybody."

I. Ira Goldenberg, the former dean of the College of Education and current director of the FIU Center for Urban Education and Innovation, said Green is "one of the most extraordinary human beings I've ever known. She's a rare person who combines a unique commitment to education with an equally well-developed appreciation for the complexities, challenges, and possibilities of the human spirit. Her own courage is invariably shared and transmitted to others. Simply put, Melanie is a gem."

Marian Link, the principal of Centennial Middle School and another FIU alumnus (1974), said she feels "fortunate to have on our faculty one of the finest teachers we have ever had the privilege to work with. Melanie is a tireless individual who epitomizes the truly dedicated educational professional who makes a real difference in the lives of children and adults every day."

Green remains an activist and an idealist for the cause of education. Her ethos is echoed by a poster in her classroom which quotes the words of Marian Wright Edelman: "Service is the Rent We Pay for Living."