" Melissa was identified with dyslexia (a reading disability) in first grade. She accepted the $1,000 award at the nonprofit organization’s 10th Anniversary Benefit at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, CT, where she confided, “taking the jumbled letters dancing in my brain and rearranging them into the patterns of words and sentences has been the greatest challenge I have faced.”

A sophomore at Kennedy High School in Manchester, MO, Melissa spent three years shuttling from her regular classroom to the school’s reading specialist, often arriving in tears, as she struggled with the task of learning to read. Learning to break down the process of reading into a series of simple, manageable tasks, she also gained the self-discipline, confidence, and poise that allowed her to triumph over competitors from across the country in the 2008 Discovery Channel 3M Top Young Scientist Challenge. Named one of three finalists after two days of grueling competition at the NASA Goddard Space Center, she performed a science experiment for an audience of 300 people after just five minutes of preparation, while the other finalists wilted under the pressure.

Accepting the award, Melissa told the audience, “When I succeeded in learning how to read, I discovered my secret weapon.” Today, thanks to winning the Discovery Channel’s Top Young Scientist award, she is on a mission to educate other kids about the wonders of science." -

Read more at: Smart Kids with LD


Melissa Rey explains the Doppler effect.

Visit youngscientist.discoveryeducation.com to learn more about the Discovery Education/3M Young Scientist Challenge.