You opened doors without hesitation,shared your knowledge generously,and helped people find their voice in this field. When I entered the world of technology and social work,you welcomed me into the conversation,encouraged collaboration,pushed my thinking, and expanded my reach. I am grateful for every conversation, every
(Co-created with ChatGPT in the style of David Whyte) There are souls who do not enter a room so much as soften its edges, whose kindness arrives first like light beneath a doorway. Melanie Sage carried herself this way— not as someone trying to be good, but as someone
I met you at the first SWDE conference. Even then, I noticed your brilliance. I noticed your kindness. You welcomed me in. You gave generously of your time. You offered thoughtful mentoring from the very beginning. You taught me about flipped pedagogy. A year later, I presented on flipped pedagogy
I didn’t know if I would find what I was looking for when I asked. I didn’t know what I had in me before someone recognized it, before I was told to keep going, allowed to not make any sense, to create a mess, and to find the
Some people enter your life to change its direction. Others arrive to expand it. You taught me that I was never beginning again, only continuing as a fuller version of myself. You always smiled as if life still had something left to reveal. And with you, We never knew what
I need to go to sleep. My mind won't let me. The minutes slip away and night escapes, This should be peaceful. The AC hums through a muggy Florida night. The dog snores blissfully, his face pressed between my shoulder blades. And the dark creates a cocoon where
Let’s take a minute to say her name “Melanie” Sounds kind of like “Melody”, You know like a Symphony And if I said that, you know I wouldn’t be wrong You see she lived her life like a heartfelt song. She was daring, caring and always working towards
*note - this is most definitely a ‘not-poem’, but I think Melanie would appreciate and laugh about a poem that doesn’t remotely resemble poetry…. Mr. Rogers always told kids to look for the helpers. Melanie, you were the ultimate helper. You always took time to thoughtfully answer; respectfully connect
From tweets to handshakes, screens to conference halls — always pushing the profession forward, toward technology used ethically and well, where digital and human were never opposites, but open to possibilities, creativity, and connection. As social workers, we smile and laugh at a profession slow to perceive what we already knew
I remember Melanie. A kind, creative social worker. A friend and quintessential colleague. I will miss her presence. ~ Linda Grobman
academic soul sister filling holes in the universe what’s not going to be filled? with love a banner for this for building things that are important to remember the backups to our lives ~by Josh Hine, inspired by Nancy Smyth Dr. Josh Hine, the assistant dean for students and