Student Commencement Speaker’s Message: Keep Moving Forward
A dream deferred is one way to describe Shannon Fuller’s more than two-decades-long quest to obtain a bachelor’s degree. That dream will come true for the 51-year-old nontraditional student at the university’s Fall 2021 commencement at PNC Arena.
The leadership in the public sector major and her fellow graduates will celebrate this achievement at an in-person ceremony at 9 a.m. on Dec. 14.
Fuller’s dream is big and bold — and one she set her sights on while juggling responsibilities as a wife, mom of two daughters, and tech worker. That you-can-achieve-anything attitude is at the heart of the message Fuller will give to Class of 2021 graduates as their student commencement speaker.
“Nothing is out of reach as long as you are willing to do the work,” she says. “No one is perfect. We all fail, make bad choices and get off track from time to time. The important thing is that you own it, learn from it and keep moving forward.”
Fuller can easily expound on that message because she has lived it. Her path to obtaining a bachelor’s degree was not a direct line, but one filled with stops and starts and myriad bumps along the way. Among the bumps were getting into drugs and alcohol and dropping out of high school in northern California at age 15.
Nothing is out of reach as long as you are willing to do the work.
Not an easy situation to bounce back from, but Fuller accomplished that and more. She obtained a GED as well as an associate’s degree and attended tech classes that revealed her knack for computers.
Fuller’s talent empowered her to transform early tech jobs into a fulfilling career. She now works for Cisco Systems as a customer success executive supporting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As such, Fuller ensures that the department is successfully using Cisco’s products and services.
But while she was climbing the ranks, moving from one position to the next and leaving California for North Carolina, something was missing, says Fuller. Insecurity about not having a bachelor’s degree plagued her.
Congratulations to our college’s undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degree graduates, who will turn their tassels at PNC Arena on Dec. 14.
Communication
Undergraduate degrees: 73
Graduate degrees: 3
English
Undergraduate degrees: 45
Graduate degrees: 1
Foreign Languages and Literatures
Undergraduate degrees: 10
Graduate degrees: 4
History
Undergraduate degrees: 24
Graduate degrees: 6
Interdisciplinary Studies
Undergraduate degrees: 62
MALS degrees: 5
CRDM degrees: 5
Philosophy and Religious Studies
Undergraduate degrees: 10
Psychology
Undergraduate degrees: 115
Graduate degrees: 17
Public and International Affairs
Undergraduate degrees: 73
MIS degrees: 2
PA degrees: 9
Social Work
Undergraduate degrees: 23
MSW degrees: 2
Sociology and Anthropology
Undergraduate degrees: 51
Graduate degrees: 10