Melody is a native of the Bloomington-Normal area and has spent most of her life there with short stints in Champaign-Urbana, Florida and Chicago. "I love that Bloomington-Normal is large enough to offer great career and educational opportunities, but still has a small-town feel," she said. "This is a very tight-knit community with compassionate Midwestern values that I missed greatly while living elsewhere."

Pursuing a career in medicine was a natural progression for Melody. "I was exposed to medicine at a very young age due to my mother's career as a nurse. Watching her work instilled the same caregiver attitude in me. Medicine combined my desire to help people with my love of science – it became the perfect career choice for me."

When it came time to finding a position, Melody wanted to work for OSF HealthCare due to its strong commitment of providing compassionate care to patients while being a leader in both the health field and the community.

"My hope for each patient is for them to leave a visit with me with a better understanding of their medical care – better than when they first walked through our doors," Melody said. "I like to establish compassionate, deep relationships with my patients in order to create a comfortable environment to listen to them freely."

When she's not working, Melody enjoys spending time with friends and family, exercising, cooking and baking and reading.