School & Family Magazine Newstand Keller ISD Winter 2017-18 | Page 9

F aces of KISD: M elanie R hodes , K eller H igh S chool
G
rowing up as the oldest of seven girls in a poverty-stricken town in the Philippines, Melanie
Rhodes wasn’t guaranteed an education beyond the fifth grade, but she has never let that
stop her. Now an ESL teacher at Keller High School, Rhodes knows the value of hard work and
Immigrant
Rhodes went to work for a married couple
in the Philippines at just 10 years old so she
could continue her education through high
school. She would run errands, cook, and
clean the house. Following high school, the
couple introduced her to their boss who was
looking for a live-in nanny. Because there are
no financial aid opportunities in the Philippines,
Rhodes spent the next six years caring for eight
children, whose ages ranged from 5 to 17,
managing the family’s finances, and cooking
meals – all while attaining a college degree.
She decided to earn her master’s degree and
worked for two years to save up for graduate
school expenses, then continued working for
the family as a part-time graduate student.
Her experience
as an educator
began at an all-
girls private school,
teaching English
Literature. While
teaching there,
Rhodes completed
her first master’s
degree and later
met her husband Michael, as he was visiting
the all-boys sch ool across the street during a
church mission trip. They had a long-distance
relationship for two years, only seeing each
other for two weeks at a time about twice a
year, before getting married. Michael was still
living in the United States, and continued to
visit when possible while Rhodes went through
the process of attaining her spouse visa. During
this time, their daughter Mischa was born in
the Philippines and Rhodes was finally able
to make the move to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when
Mischa was about 10 months old.
The Rhodeses ended up relocating to North
Texas and shortly after, Michael, a heart
transplant recipient, whose immune system
had weakened, became very ill and ended
up in a coma for three weeks. Melanie, who
was teaching in Dallas ISD, decided it was time
she learn to drive. No stranger to overcoming
obstacles, she found a driving instructor online
and worked out a plan – her neighbor would
drop her off at the train station in the mornings,
and she would take public transportation to
school, teach during the day, then take the bus
from school to Southwestern Medical Center to
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