Sometimes I forget how our stories become buried in the past. So when a writer from My City Magazine contacted me this past winter, I figured she was contacting me about promoting the Graphic Design program which will be celebrating 20 years this Fall.

Lo and behold, she insisted the story was to be about me… personally. Not one to be comfortable in the limelight, I reluctantly agreed, but always tried to steer back to the graphic design program. The writer, however, became intrigued with the back story… my story. How we shape our lives, our perspective, how we channel it into art, a career, a life… Even so, as I read through the final version of the article after it was published, I was reminded how much of a winding road my life’s journey has been. I’m looking forward to even more adventures in the future!

Whenever any of my students tell me they are unsure how to narrow down their career and/or life choices, I am reminded that my own life has hardly been a straight line. This lovely article written by Anne Trelfa of My City Magazine, though fairly thorough, just barely touches the surface. An adventure nonetheless! Read the article and come to your own conclusions!

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Dr. Mara Jevera Fulmer, ED.D., MFA, MA
From New York to Fiji to Flint

My City Magazine, June 1, 2018
Anne Trelfa, writer
2018 Photograph by Jennifer Hodney

PS: As in all things, no matter how many times one reads through, errors occur. There were only three minor errors that I offer corrections for here. First: The Fulbright I received was a Fulbright Specialist Grant and I taught a class at the Ekaterinburg Academy of Contemporary Art. It was not for me to study abroad… though all scholars and artists, by nature, study their surroundings! Second: Time was muddied a bit for content discussing my doctoral studies which began in Spring 2011. My Fulbright and my husband Keith’s subsequent illness and passing was the following year in Spring/Summer 2012. Third: The photo of me in my office at the University Media Center, USP, was taken by Litiana Waqalevu, the Media Center photographer who taught me more than a few lessons in crossing cultures! Nevertheless, Fijian spellings are often prone to spellcheck miscorrections.