Dr. Dixie Melillo was surrounded by friends, family, students, educators and Pasadena ISD school board members as they recently honored her and officially dedicated the middle school that bears her name.

Dr. Dixie Melillo Middle School opened at the beginning of the 2008- 2009 school year. The campus serves fifth and sixth grade students from the Burnett Elementary, Frazier Elementary, Stuchbery Elementary and Thompson Intermediate attendance zones. Construction of the building was funded by a bond issue approved by district voters in 2004.  

In 1983, Melillo became the second woman to graduate from The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston as a surgeon. Since then she has made generous contributions to education and health care.

Melillo is a general surgeon who practices in Pasadena specializing in breast cancer. She’s also co-founder of The Rose, a non- profit organization that provides breast cancer screenings and diagnosis to women regardless of their ability to pay.

During her remarks, Melillo inspired students with her personal account of being a high school dropout and a teenage mother of two at age 17.

“The only limits we have on ourselves are the ones we put there, sometimes the worst things that happen to us are really blessings in disguise but you can’t give up,” Melillo said.

Pasadena ISD Superintendent Kirk Lewis thanked the school staff and community for their continued support in building the school.

“It’s hard enough to build a school but then when you add Hurricane Ike, it’s even more difficult – but the faculty stepped up to the challenge. It takes a community to build a school like this and we thank you,” Lewis said.  

The event featured performances by the Melillo Mustang band, choir and orchestra. At the end of the ceremony, Principal Diane Wheeler presented Melillo with a plaque and guests were served refreshments and gave a tour of the state of the art campus.