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Melissa Salguero, a Bridgeport resident and a master’s degree student at UB, appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres" show last month.
In April, thieves took $30,000 worth of instruments and damaged many others at P.S. 48 in the South Bronx. Thieves also took technology devices.
Salguero has taught at the school for four years. She commutes after her workday to UB and is earning a master of science in secondary education with a concentration in music.
Salguero created a Go Fund Me site to raise money to replace the instruments. DeGeneres saw Salguero’s site and YouTube videos, and invited her to the show. Salguero thought she would just be part of the audience, and was stunned when DeGeneres called her on to stage.
“Advocating for my students on national TV was a once-in-a-lifetime event,” Salguero said. “I couldn’t stop crying.”
DeGeneres made a $50,000 donation to the school, and Shutterfly donated a large assortment of musical instruments.
Her professor Frank Martignetti, said: “Melissa is an example of the best that the UB School of Education has to offer. Her ability to engage the community in support of her students is a model to all of us in the music education community,” he said. “We’re immensely proud of her.”
P.S. 48 is among the poorest districts in the city. The average family income is $16,000 a year, and Salguero commutes over two hours from her home in Bridgeport to get to school by 7 a.m., to lead band practice before a full day of classes. When school lets out in the South Bronx, she commutes back to UB to take late-afternoon and evening classes. “I love it,” she said in a story on the University of Bridgeport website. “I want to share my passion and love for music with students.”
Highlights from Salguero’s appearance on Ellen are online. Her Go Fund Me page is also online.
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