Lt. Commander Coates

As submitted by Lt. Cmdr. Coates...

Lt. Commander Melinda Coates:  bio information

              

Melinda was born and raised in rural northeastern Pennsylvania.  She started college as a psychology major, but graduated from Bloomsburg University in 1982 with a degree in French and Spanish language and cultural studies.  She also studied Latin and Japanese with a minor concentration in ancient history and mythology.  She was inducted into Phi Sigma Iota – the National Foreign Language Honor Society.

Melinda then worked for six years in retail services at the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania, while attending college and  graduate school at BU.  Her graduate studies were in education and French and French Canadian cultural studies.  She spent some time in England, France and Quebec, Canada, doing research projects for her graduate course work.  Melinda worked in the university's Center for Academic Development as a French, Spanish and ESL tutor and helped to pilot and teach a new foreign language program for middle school students at the Bloomsburg Middle School.

Melinda transferred to Ohio State University in 1984 to pursue graduate studies in Russian and French linguistics and literature.  She was a teaching assistant for two years in the Department of Romance Languages.  She was having second thoughts about teaching and studying literature because she missed the cultural aspect of her studies, which wasn't included in her program at the time.  She then decided to take a temporary leave of absence to think things over and do something different for a time.  She went back to her retail roots and landed a job at a department store as an assistant department manager and later a department manager.

Melinda went on to a different company and worked as trainer, traveling to Dayton, Cincinnati and Indianapolis training new sales associates, then worked in merchandising and customer service.  In 2001, Melinda became the store manager of Star Base Columbus, a science fiction specialty store in Westerville, Ohio.  She never went back to teaching, but her language skills serve her well in her current positions! 

Melinda was just a kid when Lost in Space premiered in 1965, and then Star Trek in 1966, but it ignited her interest in astronomy, the space program and science fiction.  She avidly followed the progress of the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and STS missions and has pursued her own personal studies in astronomy over the years.  At the age of ten she discovered the works of Issac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke and couldn't wait for her weekly trip to the library to devour another of their books. 

Other hobbies include travel, writing poetry and music, and needlework.  She adores animals, especially cats. 

In an alternate reality she would have pursued a career in Xeno-Linguistics and Exo-Archaeology, the study of Alien Languages and  ancient Alien cultures.


Captain Melinda Coates:  alter ego profile

                 
Character Profile: Captain T'M'ell

Captain T'M'ell S'tarr’s father was Vulcan and her mother was half Betazoid and half Terran.  T'M'ell has had to come to terms with her mixed heritage and abilities.  Born on Betazed, she manifests limited telepathic and empathic abilities, and while she is unable to read other people's thoughts directly, she has a keen sense of what they are feeling and whether or not they are telling the truth. 

            

Her inner conflict has yet to be resolved - while Vulcans are expected to suppress emotion, the complete opposite is true of Terrans and Betazoids, who are deeply emotional and passionate.  In her quest for inner peace she has tried to strike a balance.  She is brilliant, insightful, driven and emotional, but in the most logical manner possible.  She is also appreciative of music and poetry.  She has chosen Earth as her primary residence because Terrans tend to be more accepting of her unusual heritage.

                   

T'M'ell is a graduate of Starfleet Academy and currently serves as First Officer of Star Base One, a Space Station in the Sol Sector.  She is also head of the Diplomatic Corps and her unique abilities have served her well in this capacity.  She has been instrumental in helping to negotiate several Federation peace treaties and serves as the Federation's Diplomatic Liaison to Betazed.