OAKLAND COUNTY — Melody 

Saroki Arabo was named Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson’s Elite 40 under 40 2015 winner. Arabo, 35, is a third grade teacher at Keith Elementary School in Walled Lake, where she has been employed since 2002.

Oakland County Executive’s Elite 40 Under 40 program celebrates its fourth year as the region’s leading award program that spotlights the top leaders under the age of 40 who excel in their vocation and show dynamic leadership.

In 2014, Arabo a Chaldean American was named the 2014-2015 Michigan Teacher of the Year by the state Department of Education. She was named teacher of the year at her school in 2008 and was runner-up for Walled Lake Teacher of the Year in 2009.

Arabo, a mother of three, recently published her book, “Diary of a Real Bull.” It tells the story of a school bully from the bully’s perspective, with the ultimate goal of helping identify the bully in all of us and making a change.

“My approach to solving this problem is to help kids understand that the bully stereotypes they see on TV rarely exist and that essentially we all act like bullies sometimes,” Arabo said. “Once kids realize what real bullying looks like, they are more willing to take responsibility for their actions and change their behaviors.” 

Arabo is the founder of Keith Caring Community Club, which encourages upper elementary students to get involved in service-oriented events to teach them about leadership, empathy and generosity. She is also a founding member of Teachers Educating And Creating Hope (TEACH), which helps displaced families in Iraq. 

The group is making a difference in the lives of Iraqi Christian children who were forced to flee their homes this summer, after the terrorist group ISIS gained a stronghold in Mosul, Iraq. Members of TEACH are comprised of Chaldean American teachers from metro Detroit. Christians living in the ancient city of Mosul were forced to convert to Islam, pay a special tax, flee or be killed. Today, most Iraqi Christians who were given the ultimatum by ISIS are living in Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan. Most of the children who fled Mosul in July have not attended school for months. 

Arabo received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Michigan State University. She is a member of the Michigan Education Association, the National Education Association and an alumni of the Galileo Teacher Leadership Academy.