Paying it Forward
Melanie Muscar '04, MBA '07, M.A.'18 puts her support where her heart is--the Hood college ring.
Preserving tradition one Hood ring at a time
Graduation Year
2004, 2018
Melanie Muscar ’04 is admired for many titles: Foreign Affairs Officer with the State Department, Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserves and a three-time Hood degree recipient. Melanie is also a member of both the Alumni Executive Board and Board of Associates and was inducted into the Hood College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. Less well-known may be her role as faithful financial supporter of Hood’s Legacy Ring and Scholarship program, which gives junior and senior Hood students the opportunity to apply for and be awarded either a Legacy ring or a ring scholarship. This program also is funded solely through alumni contributions, either monetarily or through the donation of previously worn Hood rings.
What brought you to Hood? What did you study?
I am from Frederick, so I knew of Hood but hadn’t been on campus and didn’t have any connection to the school. I finished my AA at Frederick Community College and was working at Ft. Detrick at the time, so I transferred to Hood to complete the additional coursework for an undergraduate degree. I studied Management and Communications as an undergrad and thrived as a student-athlete, playing softball and soccer. Even though I only spent two years as an undergrad, I stayed engaged with Hood – becoming a graduate assistant in athletics and completing an MBA, then coming back as a graduate assistant in sports information and completing an M.A. in Humanities. Not only do I love school, I love Hood!
Favorite Hood memories?
Ah, tricky to pick a safe one for print! Spring Parties were definitely memorable.I lived on 3rdfloorMeyran with other athletes, so we had fun, competitive evenings, to include hallway mattress bobsledding and nighttime sprint races on the quad. We worked hard and played hard!
What does the Hood ring mean to you? Why does the Hood Legacy Ring & Scholarship program appeal to you as a supporter?
As part of the U.S. Navy and an involved Hood alumna, I cherish belonging to communities and places where culture and history play an important role. Keeping the Hood ring tradition alive can bring us together, remind us where we came from, and help us create what we want moving forward. The ring is a daily reminder of those traditions. The Hood Legacy Ring & Scholarship program appeals to me as a supporter because I want to continue building our powerful, supportive alumni network. Wearing the Hood ring is both a conversation starter and a symbol of the school and community I love so dearly.
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