After chasing her goals across state lines and in a few different jobs, University of Iowa alumna Madison Melchert is back home and ready to lead the next generation at Dallas Center-Grimes High School as activities director.
Story: Emily Nelson
Photography: Tim Schoon
Published: Oct. 16, 2025
Life has come full circle for Madison Melchert — and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Melchert grew up in Grimes, Iowa, and graduated from Dallas Center-Grimes High School. This fall, the University of Iowa alumna started as the activities director for her alma mater.
Madison Melchert, who won a state cross-country championship at Dallas Center-Grimes High School, now serves as the activities director for her alma mater. “The days are never predictable, but every day I look forward to coming to work, and I'm excited for what the day is going to bring,” Melchert says.
But Melchert didn’t always plan to return home — or even stay in the state.
“As I was getting ready to graduate, I wanted to be anywhere but Iowa. I was like, ‘I’m getting out,’” Melchert says.
Melchert, who won a state cross-country championship in high school, went to the University of Missouri and ran cross-country and track and field for the Tigers. Melchert says she enjoyed her time in Missouri but came to realize it wasn’t a perfect fit.
“I had taken a visit to the University of Iowa originally. My grandpa and my dad went there,” Melchert says. “I thought about it for a while and decided that I wanted to be closer to home. I wanted to be around my people and represent my state as a collegiate athlete. So, I transferred to Iowa, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.”
Melchert ran cross-country and track and field for the Hawkeyes and graduated in 2018 with a BS in sport and recreation management, minor in human relations, a certificate in interscholastic athletics/activities administration, and a specialty in coaching and sport instruction.
While Melchert spent most of her time at Iowa considering a career in collegiate coaching, she says she began to realize that wasn’t exactly what she wanted.
“I started to think more about my time in high school and how that paved the way for me,” Melchert says. “Working with high school students felt like it might be a better fit for me.”
In addition to a BS in sport and recreation management, minor in human relations, and a specialty in coaching and sport instruction, University of Iowa grad Madison Melchert received a certificate in interscholastic athletics/activities administration, which combines online coursework, experiential learning, and networking opportunities.
In 2015, Iowa law had changed to allow people who do not have a teaching degree to become athletics/activities administrators if they have completed a bachelor’s degree in the sport management area with a focus on athletics/activities administration. The University of Iowa added a certificate in interscholastic athletics/activities administration to provide a path for students in sport and recreation management to become athletics and activities directors at the secondary school level.
As part of the requirements to get the certificate, Melchert interned with the activities director at Solon High School.
“He did a really good job of letting me see all different sides of the job,” Melchert says. “He was also very honest with me about it, which is good because the job can look very glamorous from the outside. I think that when a lot of people think about an activities director, they just think of all the fun things — because there are a lot of fun things — but there are also sacrifices that come along with it, just like any big job would.”
After graduation, Melchert spent a year as a cross-country and track and field coach for City High School in Iowa City. She then was hired as the middle school activities director and assistant high school activities director for Dallas Center-Grimes Schools.
“I was responsible for all seventh- and eighth-grade activities, which was a really good way to get my feet wet within a protected environment,” Melchert says. “Seventh and eighth grade is a really cool level to be involved in because they are just starting their journey on interscholastic activities. It’s their first connection with the school outside of the education world. Giving them the opportunity to wear that jersey for the first time and seeing how excited they get, you just get so much joy from them.”
Melchert then was hired as an assistant director of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.
“I was enjoying my job and wasn’t unhappy, but I felt the need to grow myself personally,” Melchert says. “I felt like I had kind of mastered my role in a sense, and one of my fears is just being comfortable. I like to continue to push myself.”
Three years later, Dallas Center-Grimes High School announced it was looking for a new activities director.
“Madison serves as an example of what you can do in this field. She’s a rock star for our program.”
“I loved my job at the girls union, and I would still be doing that if it wasn't this job that opened,” Melchert says. “There was something pulling me to want to do it. I think it just shows the passion for what I wanted for this school district and for the community.”
Mike Winker, associate professor and advisor for the UI interscholastic athletics/activities administration certificate, says Melchert’s job at the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union would be a “destination job” for many people in the field.
“That she got that job at the athletic union shows how good she is,” says Winker, who served as a high school athletics administrator for 23 years. “But she had a vision and wanted to be in charge of her own program. She wanted the challenge of being the boss.”
Melchert says she’s getting back into the groove of being an activities director.
“The days are never predictable, but every day I look forward to coming to work, and I'm excited for what the day is going to bring,” Melchert says.
Melchert says she also enjoys returning to the University of Iowa campus to talk to students.
“They ask a lot of insightful questions about work-life balance. I love that they are thinking about that,” Melchert says. “I think it’s super insightful of them to be thoughtful of different stages of life and how work can impact you in that way. It’s cool when they ask things like, ‘This career path looks fun, but what does it actually entail?’”
Melchert and Winker have stayed in touch since she graduated from Iowa, and Winker visited her at Dallas Center-Grimes when she was an assistant AD.
“We also invite her back whenever she has time to talk to students, and she serves as an example of what you can do in this field,” Winker says. “She’s a rock star for our program.”
Add a certificate in interscholastic athletics/activities administration
Secondary school athletics and activities directors plan, organize, and oversee extracurricular activities, such as sports, music and drama programs, clubs, and events that enhance student life and school culture.
In 2015, a change was made to Iowa Code to allow people who do not have a teaching degree to become athletics/activities administrators if they have completed a bachelor’s degree in the sport management area with a focus on athletics/activities administration.
Mike Winker, associate professor and advisor for the University of Iowa’s interscholastic athletics/activities administration certificate, served as a high school athletics administrator for 23 years.
“When I started as an AD, there was no training for the position,” Winker says. “We aim to give our students a head start and let them know what the job entails and what the expectations are.”
The certificate combines online coursework, experiential learning, and networking opportunities. Along with completing 135 hours of on-site work with an athletics/activities administrator or other approved conference or state office official, students volunteer at the Iowa High School Athletic Directors Association annual convention and visit the headquarters for the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and Iowa High School Athletic Association.
Winker says he enjoyed his years as an athletics and activities director, especially the relationships he developed with his coaches, program directors, and students.
“I always had a vision for the program and what we wanted for the kids,” Winker says. “We wanted them to develop their skills and have a positive experience. We wanted to establish a good culture and have fun building something we can all be proud of.”
