Michelle Fuller ('90) remembers when she first met with her undergraduate advisor, Frank Feigert, at UNT.

"He was like, 'What do you want to do?' And I was like, 'Oh, I really want to work for the CIA.' And he was like, 'OK, really? Do you know what's really entailed with all of that? You've got to take some international law courses, or theory courses, and do you even speak a second language?' And I was like, 'No, not really.' He was like, 'Well, I think we really need to rethink that.'"

Fuller didn't end up in the CIA, but her life has been just as adventurous -- going from the telecom industry to overseeing cybersecurity governance at New York City Public Schools; working as a background actor for TV, film and commercials; and serving as a volunteer for the American Red Cross in Greater New York.

From Texas to Technology

After growing up in New York City, Fuller wanted to go away for college.

UNT was the right size and had a strong program in political science, her major.

"And Feigert was also from New York, so that's why we bonded," she says. "We talked about everything. I was like, 'It's hard for me to adjust to being here in Texas. Everybody's making fun of my Brooklyn accent.' He was like, 'I'm from New York, too.' I was like, 'Really? So, then you can understand what's going on here.' And he helped me with the transition to get myself together and to feel more acclimated. He said, 'You know, join some groups. I think you probably need to hang out in the Student Union more often. And just get to know people.'"

So, she listened to the jazz bands during lunchtime. She attended basketball and football games. She ate breakfast at Kerr Hall and hung out at The Flying Tomato. She joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and lived in the old College Inn, where the other sororities lived.

After graduation, she and her then-husband stayed in Texas for a while. They moved to various parts of the country while she held positions in the banking and telecom industries. She worked for Verizon, managing franchise relations and customer engagement before getting immersed in the world of information technology from an infrastructure perspective.

In 2010, she returned to New York after she divorced. And that's when she found a new career and interests.

From Nosy to Helpful Neighbor

In 2019, she began working in information technology for New York City's Office of Technology and Innovation. She transferred to New York City Public Schools in 2025, which was a long-term dream fulfilled to be a part of an academic environment.

"This is the best job that I've ever had in my life. My clients are students and our employees, and it's about protecting data. I'm always wanting to learn something new, so I'm right on the cutting edge."

Before she took those jobs, she decided to give acting a try since she had some time off, and so much filming takes place in New York. She did background work on shows like The Blacklist, New Amsterdam and Law & Order: SVU but didn't pursue acting full-time.

"That's not a life for me. You had early call times at 5 a.m. You could work a 4-hour day, or it could be a 12-hour day, and it was like, 'Yeah, this is not consistent. It's not as sexy as people make it out to be.' But traveling to film sites allowed me to visit parts of the state I wouldn't have visited on my own."

She still pays her Screen Actors Guild dues, votes and attends the New York City party for The SAG Awards, which take place March 1 this year.

"I will always be able to have access to do that until I'm 100 years old. I think the acting roles even improve as you get older, because they always need someone to be the auntie, grandmother, the nosy neighbor or the person at the grocery store."

Her life is a cumulation of her job and acting experiences along with her volunteerism with the American Red Cross. She often helps at tabling events, educating visitors on installing smoke alarms, and working sheltering assignments to assist survivors of a fire or other emergencies.

Her volunteerism began 14 years ago and was inspired by her experience during Hurricane Katrina. She was still living in Texas and provided temporary residence for her extended family who evacuated from Galveston County to Tarrant County. The American Red Cross was a tremendous community advocate during this eventful natural disaster.

"I believe in paying it forward. I've been very fortunate in this life, and I now have time. I believe I'm blessed, and for that reason I feel I need to help people where I can."