Melissa Landrau Vega, D.Ed.

Melissa Landrau Vega was born and raised in Carolina, Puerto Rico. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Iowa State University. After graduating, Melissa began a master’s degree in Family Studies and worked at the Iowa State Student Development and Activity Center, facilitating leadership development and diversity programming. Subsequently, she obtained a full-time position at the Office of International Students and Scholars, coordinating a federally-funded program for upperclass Central American students.

Upon arriving to Penn State in 1996, she coordinated an exchange program for Higher Education graduate students in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, at the Center for the Study of Higher Education, and completed a master’s degree in Higher Education. In 1999, she became a counselor at the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC). Two years later, she became director of the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP), a federally-funded program supporting college students from migrant and seasonal farmworker backgrounds. After 13 years running CAMP, Melissa re-joined the MRC as its assistant director and became the Center’s director in 2018.

She aims to continue supporting and enhancing the college experiences of underserved students, championing equity, inclusion, and social justice on and off campus, and showcasing and celebrating the rich diversity in our communities. As a proud Latina, she is also committed to advancing the knowledge about, and appreciation for Latina/o culture and its peoples.

For Melissa, pride in one’s culture and heritage is essential to our development and success, and thus, lives by the quote, “I carry my roots with me all the time rolled up, I use them as my pillow" (Francisco Alarcón).

Melissa Landrau Vega, M.Ed. (She, Her, Ella)

Contact Melissa Landrau Vega
Email: mxl256