Dr. Melissa Mincic to Deliver TSJC’s Commencement Address

TRINIDAD - Dr. Melissa Mincic (left), Trinidad State Junior College graduate class of 2000, will be the honored guest speaker at TSJC’s commencement ceremonies in Trinidad, Friday, May 14.

A Trinidad native, Mincic is currently a positive behavior support coach with Denver Public Schools and an assistant research professor in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver. A decade after graduating from TSJC, her message to the class of 2010 will be one of inspiration and educational achievement.

After graduating from Trinidad High School in 1998, Mincic chose to attend Trinidad State Junior College, earning an A.A. in psychology. She transferred to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, graduating in 2002 with a B.A. in psychology.

She was named a William A. Morrill Public Service Fellow with Caliber Associates, Inc. in 2004 and George Mason University Outstanding Developmental Psychology, Biopsychology, and School Psychology Doctoral Student in 2006.

Mincic graduated from George Mason University in 2007 and 2009 with an M.A. and a Ph.D. in applied developmental psychology.

She was awarded an American Educational Research Association/Institute of Education Sciences Dissertation Fellowship Grant for 2007-2008 to fund her Ph.D. research, for which she is the 2010 recipient of the American Educational Research Association’s Early Education and Child Development Special Interest Group Dissertation Award.

Minici was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow in Early Childhood Special Education Leadership Postdoctoral Program (Project ECSEL) in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver.

She has presented her research findings at meetings of the American Educational Research Association, the Society for Research in Child Development, the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development, and the American Psychological Association.

Additionally, she has reviewed conference submissions for the American Education Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the Conference on Human Development. She has also reviewed journal submissions for Early Education and Development.

She is a member of the American Educational Research Association, the Society for Research in Child Development, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Commencement is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. in the “Pit” on the Trinidad campus. Seating is available on a first come basis and the event is open to the public.