Melissa graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Arts in Administration of Justice, Political Science and Psychology. She went on to obtain her juris doctorate from the Rutgers School of Law in Camden, where she was honored in receiving the Reed Smith Clinical Excellence Award. She was also distinguished as a "Best Oralist" in the 2006 Hunter Moot Court Competition and she was the recipient of the Hon. Rudolph J. Rossetti Memorial Scholarship and the Honorable Nathan C. Staller Scholarship. Melissa gained legal experience working as a certified legal intern in the Civil Practice and Children's Justice Clinics. While attending law school, she was also employed by defense litigation firms in the Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey areas.
