Melanie with her proud parents.     Melanie with her mentor Dr. Charles Seashore.  Kit Collins and Janet Reberdy join Melanie in celebrating.   Some rscj who were in attendance included: Georgeann Parizek, Paula Toner, Felisa Garcia, Janet Reberdy, and Kit Collins.

There was much celebration when Melanie Guste was awarded a PhD from Fielding Graduate University this July. Her Doctorate was in Human and Organizational Systems and her dissertation study was "A Study of Success through Microentrepreneurship among Minorities and Immigrants with Poverty Backgrounds in Lousisana."

Her graduation speech is recorded here for those who couldn't attend:

"French critic Andre Gide once said that “One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” Three and one-half years ago, I pushed away from the familiar shores of my practice in Louisiana with a well designed learning plan to chart my course and under the steady guidance of my mentor--Dr. Milton Lopes. I thought of this embarkation from the familiar then as a mission to discover new sources of knowledge for the compelling social needs of my state. My eyes were fixed on the landscape. What I have found though is, as Proust said, that “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” 

With these new eyes, I look out to see my beautiful parents who have introduced me to the world in so many ways and who have always encouraged me to follow my heart wherever it has led. My heart is dense with gratitude for them. I see members of my family and long time friends who have also come from Louisiana. The unprecedented hurricanes of this past year have pushed us ALL from the shores of the familiar and out of our comfort zones. Our being here together today testifies to the deep roots of faith that have held us through winds and rains.

To my sisters in Religious of the Sacred Heart who are also here, I have turned in all times during these years and found in them compassionate hearts, honesty, and humor.

Now, I turn to my mentor and Dissertation Chair, Charlie Seashore. From the beginning, I trusted Charlie. I trusted him, as Virgil said, “…as one who has gone through it.” In every way, he honored that trust: his humor lightened my heart, his counsel to “relax” was salvific and his consistent presence to my learning was, indeed, “masterful.” My Faculty Readers—Rich Appelbaum, Leonard Baca—and student reader, Marty Materre were each marvelous. With them, I experienced genuine civility in scholarly dialogue. And, I have seen in them—with the entire Fielding faculty—people who have truly “walked the talk” of transformational learning.

The heart of my study is the participants who have shared their pioneer journeys with me. These are treasured gifts to future generations and I am grateful to each of them.

At the Alpha and the Omega my journey through the labyrinth of life including this program—I have discovered one constant. For me, it is all God’s grace…and for that I am abundantly grateful."

— Melanie Guste, rscj, PhD