Mel retired from the United States Marine Corps after twenty-five years of active duty in 1996 and received his B.S. in elementary education from Jacksonville State University in 1999. He began his teaching career in Floyd County, Georgia where he taught fifth grade for five years. In 2004, he moved to Tennessee and taught for one year in Rutherford County. He currently teaches fifth grade at Hobgood Elementary School and will be teaching fifth and sixth grade science and social studies next school year.