Melinda has been a PM since 2021. She’s launched at 6 schools, impacting ~24,000 students across the country.

Who are you? What do you study?

I'm Melinda, I study Computer Science at Stanford, and I'm concentrating on human computer interactions—I more so like the applications of it, like the health sector, the wellness sector, and then my favorite passion in it is on its applications with climate attack, so building a more sustainable world.

Who are you outside of classes?

I love to dance. I've been doing classical ballet for as long as I can remember. In high school, I got to travel the world with that and do a lot of competitions, dancing with people who I looked up to when I was growing up. I still dance to this day—I do mostly ballet and contemporary. It's taught me so many things about grit and perseverance.

Can you describe what the Stanford Marriage Pact is like when it's on campus?

Oh my god, it’s…exponential chaos. It starts out as a buzz. It's a golden moment. And exponentially, the buzz increases. Because everyone on campus is starting to talk about it. It's beautiful to see consumer engagement and my efforts and my work come to tangible fruition that like, plants on this campus. It's crazy how we can start this social trend, what power we have at colleges.

What have you gotten out of the PM program?

I've gotten so much insight into product launch logistics management. Really knowing how to stay organized—where do I prioritize my time, learning how to partition my time, and how to time block. So I think organization has a really strong skill.

I also think leadership. If I'm entering a team, what mediums, methods, tactics, and social skills can I use to instantly gain credibility within that team. I've seen it apply itself with my everyday life. In my social circles with my friends, just being overall a better communicator. It's something that I didn't come into Marriage Pact expecting to gain, but I think it's one of the most important skills that I've learned here.

And I think the way that this has evolved is not only through the launches, but even our meetings, when we're put on the spot to think very rigorously and be able to self critique, but also to reflect. And it's hard to do that, right? It's really hard to be able to say, okay, this is something that didn't work in my launch. And now I'm telling 30 people about it. But I think that has really helped me gain momentum within growing to become a better communicator, a better leader throughout all my teams.

But other than that, I've just had so much fun. It feels like, yes, we're getting paid, but I don't feel like I'm working.

Best piece of college dating advice you’ve heard? Or worst?

There was one quote from my friends. He was saying how everyone should be a bachelor in college. After college, you can find someone. He’s named or group chat like “the bachelors”...so bad.

What do you look for in a partner?

I feel like this will be kind of controversial. One thing is that I shouldn't be their first priority. Because they're not going to be my first priority. My first priority will be myself and my career, and my dreams because I'm really big dreamer. I’d maybe want them to be a little bit more grounded. Even, like, dragging me down to reality. I'd be a priority, but like, not like he'd be his first priority. And I'd want that for him.

If you were a Marriage Pact question, what question would you be?

I would go on a spontaneous trip, even if that meant putting off my responsibilities.  I think I literally answered like, seven for that. And I marked that as the most important.

What’s your favorite Marriage Pact question?