For those who know local teacher, Dasha Melton, they would agree that her journey to America sounds like it came straight out of a Hollywood movie. Born in Soviet Russia, her mother was a prostitute and her father was believed to be in the KGB.
However, her unbelievable upbringing molded Dasha to be the loving and caring person she is today. A woman who grew up cherishing school as a “safe place” with the goal now to make sure every child in her classroom feels loved and safe.
Daria Vladimirovna Papova was born on December 13, 1990, in Vladimir, Russia. Both her and her brother, Nicholi who is a year older, lived with their mother until they were four and five years old.
“Our mother didn’t take very good care of us,” said Dasha, “both my brother and I would wander the streets, play on the railroad tracks and other people would take care of us. When we were at the house, it wasn’t the best situation and we were locked up at lot while she met with men.”
In 1994, Russian Police arrested their mother and took both Dasha and Nicholi to an orphanage where they were separated.
“Looking back now, if we had have stayed with our mother, so many horrible things could have happened,” explained Dasha with tears in her eyes, “it was definitely a God thing.”
Dasha spent four years at the orphanage and while she has some fond memories, the living conditions weren’t always the best.
“The first time I had a shower they had to run the water four times because it was black,” she said, “I’d wear the same clothes for a long time, our meals were mainly soup and hot tea and some days we didn’t even get to eat.”
While in the orphanage, Dasha said she had no concept of dates or even the time and they spent many hours watching TV or movies when they weren’t at school.
Not knowing what her fate would be, Dasha’s life changed when a group called Christian Children’s Hope Chest visited the orphanage and picked her as one of eight children to fly to America to see if they were “adoptable”.
“I had never heard of America before coming here, nor did I ever think I’d end up here,” said Dasha, “my brother also got to come and we experienced so many things together for the first time.”
Things that most children take for granted like eating french fries or going to the movies. In fact, Dasha still has the french fry wrapper from that trip to this day. It was a moment, she has never forgotten.
Before they were sent back to Russia, Dasha and Nicholi met a family who wanted to adopt the siblings together and after only a few weeks back at the orphanage they were on a plane back to America.
“It all happened very quickly,” said Dasha, “We met Greg and Mary in August and were adopted by November.”
With nothing but a little bag filled with a handful of clothes and a toy, Dasha said she remembers being ‘super excited’ to have a family and move to the United States.
“I never thought I’d get out,” she said, “but I do remember having a dream once that I would never be hungry again.”
While at first everything seemed like the perfect life with her new family, things quickly changed and her circumstances, once again, took a negative turn.
Dasha stayed with that family until just before her 16th birthday and when looking back now, she struggles with the hurt she felt and still does from those years. However, Dasha knows those struggles have helped shaped her to be the woman she is today.
During those years, Dasha saw school as a “safe place” and, ultimately, it was her school that saved her from a very troubling situation.
“I remember thinking I had had enough and didn’t want to be there (with Greg and Mary) anymore,” said Dasha, “so when I went to school one day I told my teacher about everything going on at home and the school did all they could to get me out of that home.”
The school’s headmaster opened his doors to Dasha where she lived for a month before she met her now parents, Jason and Julie Gillispie.
In 2009, Dasha graduated from Liberty Christian in Argyle, Texas and went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, minoring in Psychology. While in college, Dasha met her now-husband Britt who was born and raised in Paris.
“We dated since I was a Freshman in college and when he got a job teaching, I followed him,” laughed Dasha, “I ended up getting into the teaching field myself working as a teaching assistant at Eustace Elementary School while Britt worked as the assistant baseball coach at the high school while teaching middle school science.”
In 2014, Britt and Dasha got married and in 2015 the newlyweds moved back to Paris. Together they have a five-year-old son, Bryn.
Dasha has never been back to Russia since she left almost 20-years ago and doesn’t know if she ever will.
“I’ve thought about going back there but I don’t know what I am going to find,” explained Dasha, “Nicholi has tried to find our mother but we have never found anything on either of my parents. I have a memory of a man being sick and passing away but I couldn’t tell you who that man was or if my parents are even alive.”
Now a mother herself, Dasha says she is very open with Bryn about her adoption and he knows his mommy is from Russia even if she doesn’t have a thick accent anymore.
“My brother and I were banned from speaking Russian with Greg and Mary so I don’t speak fluently anymore,” Dasha said, “I also hid my accent in school when I first came to America as the other kids would pick on me.”
Having gone through some of the most horrific situations imaginable growing up, Dasha still says all she wants to do is help people.
“Somewhere along the way in the orphanage, I learned to take care of the elderly and I feel, now, I am supposed to help people who have gone through some of the same things I have.”
Now a second-grade Science and social studies teacher at Detroit Elementary, Dasha wants nothing more than to make sure her students feel loved.
“There are many kids in our area who have probably been through more than I have and I want to make them feel safe when they come to school and make sure they know they are loved.
Becoming a teacher and going through all she went through is what Dasha credits to shaping her to be the woman she is today.
“Honestly, if God hadn’t put the people he did in my life back then, I’m sure I would have been somewhere else or might not even be alive.”
