Melissa Kerber’s love of fashion came directly from her grandmother. Melissa learned about fashion from a young age while watching her grandmother hand make matching outfits for her mother, four uncles and grandfather. Because of this, they never went anywhere without looking incredible. She used to play dress up with all of her grandmother’s costume jewelry and clothes, and even used it to style the neighborhood girls. She collected fashion magazines and would cut out photos of clothes to make her own lookbooks of how I wanted to dress when she was older.
At the age of 16, Melissa started working at the front desk of a small salon. Soon after, before the age of 18, she had worked her way from front desk to Manager of two different salons. After she moved to Florida, she took a once in a lifetime opportunity to manage an upscale salon/spa in Lake Mary, Florida that catered to celebrity mothers of Orlando Magic players. Melissa used her salon knowledge and began consulting owners of multiple New Salon locations, including overseeing the start-up, construction, hiring, marketing, and menu planning; she even assisted in the launch of a beauty product line.
Melissa started working for Mario Tricoci in 2005, managing the Mario Tricoci Salon and Spa locations in Orland Park and Chicago 900. She began working for Tricoci University in 2012 as a Campus Director at the Highland Campus, assisting with the acquisition and opening of new Lafayette location. In 2014, she took the role of Industry Relations, working with salons and spas to build relationships with them in order to place our students in careers after graduation.
Melissa has worn many hats at Tricoci University over the years, including being promoted to Regional Enrollment Specialist in 2015 and then again in 2016 to Regional Director of Enrollment. Throughout the years, she’s styled many photo shoots and runway shows for various companies, including becoming a personal shopper.
As a member of the Design Team, Melissa Kerber has a unique and crucial role. Melissa is in charge of all photoshoot and media appropriate styling, and most importantly, is the Design Team’s fashion guru. She keeps her looks for TUBC’s photoshoots clean and modern, just like the brand.
