Elvie Melegrito, a petite, spirited Filipino woman who has worked in the Kay Spiritual Life Center for the last 35 years, literally looks up to most of the people she meets-in height. Although Melegrito is leaving her administration position, many have looked up to Melegrito over the years because of her constant dedication to Kay and the AU community.
Thirty-five years ago, when she was a secretary, Melegrito found herself in Kay, a building that she remembers as a "haven" for students who were politically active. She described the anti-war sentiments of students during the Vietnam War when students would "crack out" hundreds of protest fliers from Kay for marches and protest in Ward Circle, most notably after the Kent State University massacre in 1970.
She also remembers chaplains who gave draft counseling and arranged bail. Many times she found herself washing the eyes of students who had been tear-gassed after police officers broke up protests in Ward Circle.
"I've always worked in the church and working in Kay, I treat this as a formal ministry," Melegrito said. "I don't look at hours or when I have to go home. I do the job whenever and whatever until it is done."
Melegrito was born to a family of 11 children, of which only nine survived. She moved to the United States in 1968 and attended a university in Tennessee, where she studied Christian education and worked for the Board of Evangelism of the United Methodist church. A year later, she moved to Washington and took a job at AU. That same year, she married her husband, a pro-democracy activist whom she knew in the Philippines and had come over to the United States before. He was working at AU's library at the time.
Starting out as a secretary and moving up to operations administrator, Melegrito has seen many changes in Kay as well as at the University. The staff has doubled in size, from 10 to 12 people when she started to 21 people working there now.
She also noticed that there is greater diversity in the number of ministries, larger student participation, especially those in the Catholic and Muslim faiths, and more openness and more dialogue among religions. The biggest change at the University is its physical appearance, which has changed significantly over the years.
University Chaplain Joe Eldridge first met Melegrito in 1974, when he was a student in the School of International Service applying for a scholarship for graduate school.
"Elvie is the heart and soul of this place," Eldridge said. She personifies the hospitality and graciousness that defines the character of the Kay Spiritual Life Center."
Over the years, Melegrito worked in other departments and offices on campus, but has worked mostly with Kay. She also advised the Filipino-American group on campus, Barkada, since its inception in 1995. Recently, she became involved with the Table Talk Series with Eldridge. The series invites students to a luncheon to listen and discuss different global issues. Melegrito takes on most of the cooking and lunchesof the series, wich, as Eldridge jokely calls "Elvie's Diner." In fact, Melegrito's name is now synonymous with food.
Eldridge recalled many times when he was hungry, then looked down and almost miraculously, saw food appear on a plate in front of him. It is also common to find Melegrito flipping hamburgers and hotdogs.
"I have deep affection for Elvie and we've had a wonderful time together at [the luncheons]," Eldridge said. "In the last academic year, she fed close to 1,000 people at the Table Talks Luncheons." Many students, as well as United Methodist Chaplain Mark Schaefer and Rabbi Ken Cohen share the same enthusiasm in expressing their thoughts about Melegrito.
"She's the best," said Schaefer, who has known her for the last four years. "She makes the place work and without her we would be hopelessly lost. She, for most of us ... acts as liaisons [between the Chaplains and the University]. She helps navigate the bureaucracy and defends our interests in the University."
Cohen agrees and says that Melegrito will be missed. He first met Melegrito when he was a freshman at Georgetown University and visitedKay.
"She's wonderful in very sense of the word, kind, helpful, hospitable, efficient...in short perfect," Cohen said.
Melegrito has no shortage of activities to keep her busy once she leaves her position. Working part-time in the Office of the Provost, she plans to spend more time focusing on the other passion in her life.
While not in school, Melegrito finds time to sing in a church choir and direct the children's choir, and is involved with a Philipino theatre group called Tanghalang Philipino, which is a musical ensemble. The group plays the anklung, a bamboo percussion instrument that plays a specific pitch.
However, Melegrito biggest goal is within the Philipino-American community. She is eager to establish a Filino-American cultural center in the D.C. area to cater to the 60 organizations and 60,000 members of the community, she said. Her motivation for the cultural center is bring together organizations in the community and teach American -born Philipino children about their roots.
"I've enjoyed work here," said Melegrito who also believes that one of her biggest marks that she left behind is making the center a hospitable, welcoming place. "Thirty-five years is a long time... but I have enjoyed [the fact that] I could help a students [who was] going through a difficult time and just being there to listen"
