Teacher Spotlight: LASD’s Melanie Tomaski.

Teacher Spotlight: LASD’s Melanie Tomaski.

By Kate Krieger-Watkins, staff writer.

Teacher Spotlight is a presentation of Shelby State Bank, with offices in Ludington, Pentwater, Shelby, Hart, Hesperia, Manistee, Montague, Whitehall, North Muskegon, and Fruitport. 

LUDINGTON – As one of her biggest accomplishments working with the community members and local employers to help high school students find their way after they graduate high school, Ludington High School business and technology teacher, Melanie Tomaski has been working with students since 1989.

After graduating from Coleman High School in Coleman, Tomaski then attended Delta Community College and received an associate degree in legal studies. She then received a business teacher education bachelor’s degree, occupationally certified, from Central Michigan University in 1988. She completed a computer science endorsement from Ferris State University and a master’s of vocational education from Central Michigan University in 1998 and then an administrative certification from the Michigan Association of School Administrators in 2019.

“Most of my career has been about preparing students for their next step after high school graduation by working collaboratively on projects and activities that support our school and local community,” Tomaski said. “Providing opportunities for students to volunteer and give back while learning so many valuable job skills in the process. Working together to plan and organize real life projects helps students bring meaning to their classroom studies, learn more about the place they live and develop a strong sense of pride in their work. The same employability skills we demonstrate for our Business Professionals of America (BPA) competitions and work-based learning experiences. Working with local employers has created a bi-directional pipeline of knowledge and understanding between the wants of today’s youth and the needs for tomorrow’s job market.”

Tomaski has worn many different hats during her time as an educator and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Being involved in many different programs and activities has help her build many relationships that have helped her and her students throughout the years.

Growing up, Tomaski always played “school” at home. She said she was already practicing to become a teacher before she ever even realized it.

“Most little boys and girls baked with their Easy-Bake oven, played house or dress up,” she said. “On my chalkboard, I drew out my bus routes and used a matchbox bus to pick up my students. Then, I lined up my dolls and stuffed animals around my room and flipped the chalkboard for the daily lesson, but I never really planned on building a career in education. My skills and abilities seem to lead me into a computer science career. Racing across the keyboard and making a machine conduct binary tasks was fun and easy for me to learn and do. It’s been an incredible journey I’ve learned and used so many computing machines since the punch card. Going to college was not part of my game plan, but thankfully for my co-op position during my high school senior year, they convinced me to pursue further training. It would be another 10 years before I would enter a classroom as a professional educator. That’s why I absolutely love what I’m doing.”

Finding a career she has loved for many years, Tomaski is very passionate about helping her students find the path that will fulfill them as well.

“What do you want to do when you grow up?’ is the most popular question a student is asked and is perhaps the most difficult to answer,” Tomaski said. “What does that really mean and when do we really grow up? Learning is lifelong and sometimes there’ll be more than one career path that gets you to where you were meant to be. Allowing me to work directly with employers on behalf of our students has provided more opportunities for both sides, than I ever imagined. Helping students explore their hopes and dreams has been a magnificent journey, I am thrilled and honored to take with each student.”

Please consider helping to fund local news. Mason County Press and Oceana County Press are available for free thanks to the generous support of our advertisers and individuals who support our service. Click on the PayPal donation button located on the top right of our website. 

This story is copyrighted © 2021, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.