First-Generation Scholar Wins Bucknell College President’s Award

Posse Scholar Christian Melgar, a senior at Bucknell University, was awarded the institution’s President’s Award for Distinguished Academic Achievement. This award is given to students who demonstrate the highest level of academic achievement by attaining a cumulative GPA of 4.0.

Christian is double majoring in education and English with a minor in policy. His extensive resume of extracurricular involvement on campus includes serving as the executive intern for the College of Arts and Sciences, chairing the Dean of Student’s Advisory Council, acting as Lead Residential Advisor for more than 250 student residents, and leading within Bucknell’s student government.

“I don’t feel like I’m leaving Bucknell with a single regret,” Christian says, reflecting on his involvement in the Bucknell and Lewisburg communities. “I’ve taken every opportunity.”

“I want to show students that how you carry yourself as an individual is just as important as your credentials.”

Raised in Bethesda, Maryland, to Salvadorian immigrant parents, Christian describes a very different experience in his early education, citing the 36 “behavioral warnings” he had accumulated by the time he finished 8th grade. He remembers feeling isolated in elementary and middle schools, having experienced bullying. He was consistently placed in ESL programs simply because Spanish was listed as a language on his record. These experiences led Christian to question his ability to thrive academically.

“I was taught that people like me didn’t go to college,” he remembers. “People with brown skin, people raised by two immigrant parents were not meant to succeed.”

It was not until sophomore year of high school—when one teacher showed him that “character is just as strong as credentials” or background—that Christian began to thrive.

“Coming to Bucknell,” he explains, “I had something to prove.”

Christian says he battled culture shock in his freshmen year, but he persisted with support from his Posse and campus mentor, JT. He worked diligently to balance the heavy demands of student teaching as an education major and activities on campus.

“I still deal with imposter syndrome,” he says, emphasizing that his passion for education stems in part from a desire to instill a sense of belonging. “I want to be there for someone when no one else is and be able to recognize those students that need additional support.”

Christian’s ultimate goal is to continue to pass on the lessons that impacted him so deeply in high school.

“I want to show students that how you carry yourself as an individual is just as important as your credentials.”