Melanie Schaefer enters her fourth year as the Sports Information and Academic Support Specialist at Elgin Community College.

She creates and manages content on the athletics website and social media channels and handles the game management at home events while leading the Athletes Commit to Excellence (ACE) program. ACE is an academic monitoring program that helps student-athletes learn the necessary skills to help them succeed.

Schaefer previously served as the Assistant Director of Athletic Communications at Washington University in St. Louis where she assisted in media relations, social media and website coverage, statistics and results of the Bears’ 19 athletic programs.

While at WashU, she promoted several nationally-ranked programs, which included 18 All-Americans, 16 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and two Elite 90 Award recipients. Schaefer also handled the nomination for an eventual NCAA Woman of the Year finalist.

She has assisted with athletic communications coverage of numerous championship events, including the NCAA Football Playoffs, NCAA basketball, tennis and volleyball regionals, and several postseason baseball and softball tournaments.

Schaefer earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism in December 2018 and her Master’s degree in professional studies with an emphasis in athletic administration from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2020.

She resides in Tower Lakes, Ill. with her boyfriend, Ryan.

Updated August 1, 2024