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Meet...Melissa

Name: Melissa Forinash. 

Department:  CCIT. 

How long at MUSC:  9 years. 

Family: Husband, Fred Wanner, and two cats who allow us to live in their house.  

Favorite song/music: Gershwin's “Rhapsody in Blue” is my favorite, but essentially anything by Gershwin is great. 

What do you like most about Charleston? The unparalleled beauty of the Lowcountry—the creeks, marsh, live oaks, wildlife, particularly at sunrise and sunset.

Fondest childhood memory: Watching St. Louis Cardinal baseball games and the Friday night fights with my grandfather.

Bad habit: Interrupting.  

Hobbies, activities in your free time: Billiards, gardening, cooking, boating, and RiverDogs baseball.  

If you could trade places with someone for a day, what/who would you be?  A bag lady—it would help keep me humble.  

Most rewarding thing about your job: Helping people to grow, improve, and achieve to their highest abilities.

Guests at fantasy dinner: Harry Truman, Katherine Graham, and Yogi Berra.

Personality trait you admire in others:  I'm not sure it's a personality trait, but I admire a sense of “grace”—someone who presents a quiet self-assuredness and poise as their normal persona as well as under pressure. It's one of my aspirations.  

Three things that mean a lot to you: I believe it's extremely important to maintain balance between worklife and homelife, be flexible and open to change, and always, always maintain a sense of humor.
  
Something people don't know about you: I love watching WWII submarine movies like “Up Periscope” and “Run Silent Run Deep.”  I can't imagine what being in one of those boats back then must have been like.  

Favorite quote: “...Do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of ” —Benjamin Franklin.