Sheri Kay Melander

Student

“Our community has a great need for strong business people who can provide for those who aren’t so fortunate.”

As a top fashion model for Eileen Ford and Wilhemina, Sheri Melander had everything going her way. Life was a series of breezy strolls down the runway; success and a life of glamour assured. “And then I got a call that my father was ill in Minnesota and I immediately flew home,” recalls Sheri. “He died in the morning when I arrived. And that afternoon,” she says, quietly, reflectively, “I had a stroke.”

The doctors told Sheri that she would never walk again. “I was completely paralyzed from the waist down,” she remembers. “And it may sound strange, but in the hospital I prayed to God for help. And I had a vision of Christ there in my room. And he healed me.” It was actually within a couple of weeks that Sheri began to walk again. She is now completely recovered. But her footsteps now—though just as assured and graceful—are leading her into a life that is vastly different from the world of “haute couture.”

“An experience like mine can change your whole perspective about what’s valuable,” says Sheri. “I’m still a business major. But where I’d originally wanted to start a fashion line, now I’d like to be involved with setting up scholarships for disadvantaged people. I grew up in a small town where people really know each other,” she continues. “And with an MBA—and a Christian perspective—I’d like to serve the people and families of the community I choose to live in.”

Sheri says she doesn’t much miss the whirlwind of fashion shows. And she’s even discovered a substitute for the runway. “I love roller skating along the beach,” she says. “It makes me feel like I’m really moving on.”

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