Timur Kuzu, MESA Program Director

Email: tkuzu@highline.edu

Timur, grew up living in around the world in places like Turkiye, Germany, South Korea, and has also lived in various states like Arizona, Texas, New York, Florida, South Carolina and California. During his 20 plus years in the military he acquired degrees and work experience in Aerospace Propulsion, Aviation Maintenance, Linguistics, and Environmental Science. He has experience working on multiple aerospace systems and aircraft such as the A-10 Warthog, F-16 Falcon, and C-17 GlobeMaster.  He finished up his military service as the Director of the Air Force Leadership School while also teaching professional development and sexual assault prevention workshops. Timur is an advocate for eliminating barriers in higher education for underrepresented students and promoting STEM education and careers.

Melissa Moehlig, MESA Faculty Sponsor

Email: mmoehlig@highline.edu

Melissa was born and raised in Southern California. She is a first generation Mexican-American and speaks Spanish fluently. She is passionate about helping first generation students learn how to navigate college because she struggled with this as a student. She studied chemistry as the University of California, Los Angeles and earned a bachelor’s degree there before moving on to the University of California, Riverside and earning a Ph. D. in organic chemistry. Melissa has been teaching chemistry at Highline for 9 years and enjoys her interactions with students, both in and outside the classroom. She is also the Engineering Department Coordinator and has gained lots of experience in academic advising in this role. Melissa is an advocate for diversifying the STEM field and loves to support underrepresented groups to earn degrees and obtain careers in these fields.