By Ann Ross Westermann

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Middle School art teacher and Collegiate alumna Melanie Gorsline (’74) and her family moved to Richmond only six months after she was born. She has one younger brother, David (‘76), who has four sons—David (‘13), Jack, Grant (‘16), and Spencer (‘18)—three of whom are, or soon will be, Collegiate alumni.

Gorsline graduated from Collegiate in 1974 and went on to attend Salem College in Winston Salem, North Carolina, where she played field hockey. She began her studies as an art history major; however, at the end of her junior year, she decided she would get her teaching certificate, so she took classes required by the state of North Carolina and became an art history studio major. After graduating in 1978, she traveled to Europe for three months, where she saw “all the art [she] had studied, which was truly wonderful.” Her destination of thirteen countries included Russia, Amsterdam, France, Greece, and her favorite, Florence, Italy. During her travels, or what she describes as her “grand tour” of Europe, she saw many aspects of art that reflected what she had learned in college, such as “artwork, sculptures, museums. It was truly heaven.”

Growing up, Gorsline was involved in sports at Collegiate, specifically field hockey, in which she received all-LIS recognition. Above all, however, she loved to be creative. “I loved creating, I loved color, and I loved fabrics. I loved to go to auctions, and I had a passion for collecting things such as furniture or artwork or china,” she notes. When she got out of college, she had an antique design business on the side, which strongly furthered her passion for creativity. She “learned to sew in 7th grade, and it was something I loved. I took that skill and made it my passion. I would put pockets in almost everything. It furthered my love for art, and it propelled me to love art and design even more. I loved knitting because I loved all the different textures. I also got into interior designing, and all these became my biggest passions and hobbies.”

When Gorsline returned from her travels abroad, Collegiate’s headmistress, Julia Williams, who was Gorsline’s own 10th grade English teacher, called her in September 1978, asking her to substitute for a 5th grade girls art class and a 12th grade photography class. Gorsline continued to substitute for the next seven months. She soon had a contract for the next year and has “been here ever since.” Gorsline notes that it was a tremendous change coming back as a teacher. In those early years, she continued to call the rest of the faculty, who were now her co-workers, “Mrs.”or “Mr.,” as she had when she was a student. She stated that she has such “nice people to work with, fabulous kids to teach. Everyone here wanted, and still wants to be, successful in their lives.”

In her first year of teaching, 1979, she taught 5th grade girls art, 12th grade art history, and 12th grade photography. Gorsline comments that, “From there, it all kind of morphed. As the curriculum changed, I started teaching 5th, 6th, and 12th. I was a 6th grade advisor for 12 or 14 years. And eventually, I had to decide whether I wanted to go all Middle or all Upper. I went Middle.” When asked about her thought process behind this decision, Gorsline says, “What is really cool about teaching here is that when I teach you all in the Middle School, you are still here in the Upper School, and I can see what everyone is doing. I will substitute some Upper School classes, and I can say that ‘I used to teach you,’ and I am able to see how everyone has grown and blossomed. It is so awesome.”

Gorsline’s homeroom from the ’85 edition of The Torch.

Currently, Gorsline teaches 5th grade girls and all 7th grade coed art classes, along with both 8th grade full-year and half-year art. Due to the current Middle School schedule, she is constantly seeing new faces. For example, the 7th graders will rotate their arts every nine weeks, so she works with eight different groups of 7th graders every year. She does wish art were year-round for all students, so she could see everyone every day, but she is happy for those who do choose art as their elective in 8th grade, so they can “continue art as a passion.” Gorsline notes that she has “no free time,” however, as she teaches five out of the six class periods allotted in the Middle School schedule. Additionally, she is substituting a great deal, so there are many days when she teaches all six periods. “One class might be doing clay, and the next one is doing painting, and then the next class is doing clay, so I am always changing things and working with different materials each period; there is so much prep time. Some days can get so hectic, and I have to get from one side of the campus to the other, so it is impossible not to be late.”

Students in Middle School arts classes dive into countless diverse projects, including linoleum printmaking and pastel drawings, throughout their time with Gorsline. With this, they have the opportunity to be exposed to many different aspects of art. When asked about her teaching style, Gorsline notes that, “I was a print-maker, which is why I do the linoleum printmaking. Doing the pastel drawings allows students to be able to use both skills of drawing and using color.” While there might be specific reasons behind each project, Gorsline notably mentions that, “Most of the time, I want my class to be remembered as a time when you could have a good time and you felt like you could just simply do art. So many students come in and say ‘I can’t draw,’ and I tell them ‘I can’t draw either, but I do know some tricks to teach you.’ I just hope that they build self-confidence, and it will motivate them to maybe want to do art later in life and appreciate it.” Gorsline hopes that “everyone who takes my class remembers it and remembers what they did during it and all the projects they completed. I want everyone to have this experience in both my class and all their classes at Collegiate, where they want to come back to it and come back to this magical place, and send their children here so they can experience what they [parents] did.”

A Middle School student’s linoleum print-making project.

Gorsline found her desire to teach and has never lost that passion. She notes that she will sometimes get appreciative notes from students at the end of the year, or a student will come up to her and say how excited they were that one of their pieces was chosen in the art show. “Those are the big bonus points, these moments make me feel so good. I feel as loved as much as I have loved my students like they were my own children.”

“Do you know my sister?” “Do you know my mom?” These comprise some of the questions Gorsline has been asked constantly over the years. Gorsline can remember both parents and siblings of her current students, and even says that she “remembers the day I met all these kids’ parents. It is so fun to have taught the students, and then their mothers or fathers. I can look at a student and know their aunt’s name, their mother’s name, their grandparent’s name, their dog’s name. It is so, so amazing.”

While Gorsline mentions that she never thought she would be teaching as a career, she “wouldn’t have it any other way. As you get older and step back and look at life and the memories of being here at school as a lifer, it is just so special, and more so now that I am teaching people whose parents I taught. I love the arts because people can come and create, think outside of the box, make a mess, walk away. It is not as stressful, and it uses the other side of your brain.”

When asked what makes Collegiate such a special place, Gorsline responded with “the traditions, both the old and the new. I still know every word to the Pageant and could sing every single song by heart. I love to be able to keep up with my Collegiate friends, and it is so fun to reminisce about how this place used to be.”

A Middle School student’s pastel drawing.

One of Gorsline’s former students, Match contributor Bailey Andress (‘19), comments that she enjoyed “the variety of things we did. You could tell that she really trusted us, especially when she let us use really sharp tools for our linoleum projects. She would always make me laugh, and I never felt like she was talking down to me. She made me feel like a really good artist, even though art really isn’t my thing.” Along the same lines, Isabella Vita (‘19) added that she “really enjoyed [Gorsline’s] humor, and I was always excited to come to her class.” My mother Townsend Westermann (‘88) even remembers that Gorsline’s class “was always such a blast. She has the best style, and her creativity inspired the rest of us to push ourselves outside of our comfort zones.”

Meditating on both the past and the future, Gorsline comments, “I think I will always drive the same car to school. I wouldn’t know any other place to drive to other than to turn right from River Road. While it is not the same school I went to, it is still such a fabulous place. It is the teachers that work here and the personalities here that make it so special. Everyone gets to grow up in this world and make mistakes and learn from it. Life isn’t easy, but being at a place like Collegiate motivates students to look ahead and makes students feel like they can do anything.”

The school has undergone dramatic changes during Gorsline’s tenure, with new buildings, facilities, faculty, and students. Gorsline notes that the campus is “absolutely beautiful. It has grown so much since I was here as a student, and it is huge now.” She also noted that the number of students has grown as well, and how “I graduated from a class of 40 girls, and now each class has more than 60+ girls and 60+ boys per grade.” The dynamics have also changed, from her perspective, as the “world has changed too, and we have to keep up with that.” The one thing that she does not believe has changed, however, is the “love of teaching from our teachers, and the love from the students to absorb it all. The students want to experience it all, they are excited about everything they are doing and they are passionate about things. No two days are alike, and every single day is a new experience. It has been and will continue to be such a happy and caring special place.”

All photos by Ann Ross Westermann.