During high school, Pilar was involved in Student Council, Spanish Club, and Spanish Honor Society. Having recently moved from Mexico, Pilar learned English as a student at South through the bilingual program. Pilar is a writer, a journalist and a professor. She has published two books, From Mythic Rocks, Voces del Malpáis (2009) and La Casa de Esperanza: a History (2010). From Mythic Rocks highlights issues of identity and memory as they relate to the immigrant experience and the book on La Casa is the first published history of Latinos in Waukesha. Her academic work, poems, short stories and newspaper articles have been published in The United States, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. She has also presented her academic and creative work in conferences in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Canada. Pilar earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and Spanish at the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater in 1988. She earned her Masters in Spanish in 1995 from the University of Texas at El Paso and her Ph. D in Latin American Literature from UW-Madison in 2006. Pilar began her career as a reporter and librarian for the Waukesha Freeman in 1988. She was also a copy editor at the El Paso Herald Post. She taught Spanish at The University of Texas at El Paso and alt the El Paso Community College from 1990-95. Pilar was a high school Spanish and journalism teacher from 1993-95. She was a Spanish Instructor at WCTC from 1996 to 1998. She has taught and lectured at Carroll College, UW-Madison, and UW-Whitewater. Pilar is currently an Associate Professor at UW-Whitewater teaching all levels of Spanish language and literature, as well as Chicano/a and U.S. Latino literature. Pilar was named the UW-Whitewater Panhellenic Council Outstanding Teacher in 2008. She received the UW-Whitewater Women in Leadership Award in 2008 and the UW System Women of Color in Education Award in 2007. Pilar also received the Professors Who Make a Difference Award in 2004-05. She has also written articles for the Milwaukee Journal, Waukesha Freeman, and the El Paso Herald Post. Pilar has served on the YWCA Board of Directors, Women’s Center Advisory Board, and has worked extensively with La Casa de Esperanza. Dr. Melero currently resides in Sugar Creek, Wisconsin, with her husband, Leobardo Virrueta. They have two children Isabella and David.