Dominique Melder
2009 - 2010 Miss Black Louisiana USA

Dominique is currently a student of the University of New Orleans. Her declared major is Theater Production with concentration in Costume Design. Her professional goal is to become a well known costume designer who is sought by directors for her talent and ability to convey their visions onto the screen and make the characters three-dimensional for audiences to see and admire.

In 2007 Dominique auditioned for and was accepted in NOCCA in the discipline of Visual Arts. She later returned to NOCCA in 2008 to pursue the discipline of Theater Design. This achievement put her closer to her life’s goal of becoming a Costume Designer.  Dominique has learned that she was not just taking classes to get a job, but preparing for a career. Her community service includes work at the New Orleans Museum of Art, Audubon Zoo, and the Botanical Gardens. She is also employed as a ride operator for New Orleans City Park.

Her platform for the communities of Louisiana was to develop opportunities for children and young adults to express and expand their creative talents in constructive ways and even potentially build them to careers. She believes that if a person’s artistic abilities are nurtured and trained from early on then that person will have many chances to use their talents to their advantage throughout life. Her personal motto is “Believe that you can succeed and you will!” .