Aces of Trades: Melissa Rodgers is an advocate for people
COSHOCTON — She was a nurse, now a real estate agent – and she sees a valuable similarity between the two.
“I believe a real estate agent is a community pillar,” explained Melissa Rodgers. “It’s as honorable as when I was a nurse sitting at the bedside of a sick patient. I don’t see a difference.
“I love helping others,” she continued, “and working as a nurse allowed me to be with families and patients in a season of their lives where they needed assistance. Sometimes it was just reassurance and sometimes it was physical help, but always it was fulfilling. To be able to step into a moment with someone and be there for them, that is what I love about service.
“People need someone who can reassure and help them understand and get through what’s happening,” she added, “They need an advocate, someone who’s compassionate and who’s listening to them. I believe that’s my role as an agent, just as it was when I was a nurse.”
Today, Rodgers sells real estate with HER, REALTORS.
“I do this every single day because I love it,” she continued. “I get to step into people’s lives and help them with one of the biggest financial decisions they’ll make.”
Melissa (Polk) Rodgers grew up in Warsaw. She went all the way through the River View school system. In fact, she said her family “has been attending this school district for over 80 years.
“I loved growing up in Warsaw,” she added. “I was a fun-loving kid. I loved laughing and I was usually the mother hen to the other kids. My twin sister (Amy Toney, also a real estate agent in Coshocton) and I have fond memories of riding our bikes around town, going to the pool and the Dari.”
Rodgers went on to Hondros College of Nursing in Westerville. She worked in Delaware and Columbus.
Then life took a turn. A real estate agent asked Rodgers if she could help her part time.
“I did that for about a year and absolutely loved it,” she noted. “However, it was demanding with two small kids so I stepped away, knowing that someday I would come back to real estate.”
Rodgers attended Hondros College of Business to earn her real estate certificate, then joined HER, REALTORS in 2018.
“I believe Melissa is in the business of helping people,” assessed Amy Crown, executive director of the Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce. “She takes the time to listen to her clients, just as she learned to do for her patients when she was a nurse. She has a very caring heart.”
“I don’t think any lesson in life should be wasted,” Rodgers responded. “Every patient I’ve cared for has made me a better real estate agent. Every experience has brought me to this place. I love where I am in life.”
HER, REALTORS is located at 1502 Chestnut St. For more information, call 740-513-8956 or log on www.melissarodgers.herrealtors.com.
About the series
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at ctnews@coshoctontribune.com.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Melissa Rodgers is an advocate for people
