Patricia Melton said she stumbled into the education field after graduating from Yale University in 1982.

But her accomplishment of establishing and maintaining small high schools in low-income areas is no mistake. It is also among reasons why Melton is one six Silver Anniversary Award recipients this year.

Melton, who was a track and field student-athlete at Yale despite not having competed in the sport until college, is joined by Gail (Kozaira) Boudreaux (Dartmouth College, basketball and track and field), Steve Jordan (Brown University, football), Rowdy Gaines (Auburn University, swimming) Ann Woods Smith (University of Florida, gymnastics) and Bill Stetson (University of Southern California, volleyball) in the Silver Anniversary class.

They will be recognized January 7 during the Convention’s Honors Celebration.

Melton, who originally played lacrosse at Yale, has developed a reputation as an entrepreneurial national education leader by working with nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher learning, school districts and businesses to create instruction opportunities for underprivileged students.

She has helped start nine schools, most of which are grades 9 through 12, in Ohio, Washington and Indiana.

Currently, she is the lead school design consultant and early college high school expert for the University of Indianapolis’ Center of Excellence in Leadership and Learning.

She also works closely with Youthville, USA — an organization that has charter schools in which students can earn academic credits while participating in community-service projects such as building homes for low-income families.

Melton, the 1982 Ivy Group Player of the Year and Yale’s Most Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete after graduating with a degree in African-American studies, received her first taste of working in education while she pursued being a world-class track and field athlete.

She was the resident director at a boarding school called "A Better Chance House" in Madison, Connecticut. "It was a scholarship program that I had gone through as a student when I went to prep school (in Concord, Massachusetts)," Melton said. "When I was training, I thought it would be great if I became the resident director so I could train and contribute something back that I had benefited from."

Her job was to mentor six teen-aged boys and keep them on track to earn a high school diploma.

"I was tutor, the cook and everything," said Melton, who grew up in Cleveland. "I am 5-5 and those guys towered over me. It was an awesome task, but a great experience. There are some things I did in that program that they still do now."

Melton, who placed second in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1982 National Collegiate Women’s Track and Field Championships, developed activities involving sports participation, community-service projects and began a parents’ weekend at the school.

Her decision to participate in Marine Corps boot camp in Parris Island, South Carolina, after her junior year at Yale also helped in her endeavor of mentoring the boarding school students.

"I was curious to experience serving our country in the military," said Melton, who still holds the Yale women’s record for the indoor 400-meter sprint and outdoor 400-meter hurdles. "It was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. I don’t mean physically, because being an athlete, that part was easy. Psychologically you have to give yourself over and follow directions. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It was quite intense."

Her accomplishments at the boarding school were fortified while she trained to run the 800-meters. Melton qualified for the finals in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials before retiring from the sport.

Two of her most current projects are taking place in the Decatur and Wayne Township School Districts in Indianapolis. A private company is working with the Decatur School District to design a building-trade high school with a construction curriculum (for example, welding, carpentry, pipe fitting).

"The students will complete their high school program, but have internships in these trades," Melton said. "By the time they finish, they would have about 30 college credits."

The plan is for the school to open in fall 2008.

The Wayne Township District Project is similar in scope. Vincennes University, a two-year college, is collaborating with the school district to begin a new institution for learning.

"It will be a small school of choice within the district," Melton said. "When students finish that program they will receive a high school diploma and an associates’ degree. They can earn degrees in logistics, homeland security, general liberal arts, health and some other disciplines without having to pay a penny for the college part of the course work."

Melton attributes her success in these endeavors to her planning skills that she cultivated while being a student-athlete.

"I know how to get stakeholders together, how to move them through various stages of the planning and design process, from implementation to sustainability," she said.

Not bad for someone who stumbled into the field.