By Lacey Chenault

Gorsline (left) and Kathy Schmidt (’74) at the Girls School’s May Day celebration in 1974.

Middle School art teacher Melanie Gorsline (‘74), who has been calling Collegiate home since she was a student in the Lower School, shares her love for the campus with her students. She has been learning and teaching at Collegiate for 60 years. If you know Collegiate, you know her.

After her experience at Collegiate as a student, Gorsline went off to Salem College in Salem, North Carolina, in hopes of becoming a teacher one day. After graduation and traveling in Europe, she got the opportunity to substitute at Collegiate, which then turned into a full-time job.

Gorsline, who is often lovingly referred to as “Ms. G.,”  attended and taught at Collegiate when it two schools, with girls in one building and boys in another, so she has seen many changes on our campus.

Gorsline’s 6th Grade class.

In an in interview with The Match, she explained how teaching for her has changed over the years. She shared that since COVID-19, there are more regulations that she had to follow, such as wiping down the tables more regularly, and spacing out the desks. She also shared how the pandemic changed the students inside of her classroom, stating that the “innocence is gone, but the world has changed, they had to grow up faster.” Gorsline has taught 5th-8th Grade art throughout her teaching years witnessed how student behavior has changed. 5th and 6th Graders are still a little scared of the experience of going into Middle School, but once they get older, they feel more comfortable, and the 7th and 8th Graders are already thinking about Upper School. 

Gorsline’s Senior portrait.

Gorsline has all of her students do a series of projects over the course of the class, but she says that her “favorite project is carving the linoleum prints.” This one is the most special for her because “no other art elective offers this type of print-making, and the parents love having the printing block that they can reuse.” When making a linoleum print in her class, the student picks out an animal, or sometimes a flower. Once they’ve picked what they are carving, they trace it out onto the block, which is then ready to be carved. Then with a sharp razor blade, they cut out the design, leaving some parts of the block raised so it will transfer the ink. Once done carving, they can make a series of prints with any colors that they want.

Gorsline had always loved the Collegiate community, describing the feeling of Collegiate as her “best friend,” and “sometimes you don’t get along, but you love them.” Gorsline explained that she never thought she would end up back at Collegiate after college, but since she did, she cannot see herself doing anything else. She loves how she already feels a relationship with her students before they already walk through the door. Gorsline feels it is easy to create these relationships because she “probably already [knows] your parents, your cousins, even your dog’s name” before you get into her class. She is always a smiling face in the hall and in the classroom. Gorsline says, “It’s a nice feeling to come to a place like this every day, where you know everybody.” 

All photos courtesy of the Julia Williams Study and Archives Center.