Higher education and beyond: the incredible Moana Fullmer
USU is full of successful non-traditional students across all campuses, a (lucky) few of which are even graduating this spring. Moana Fullmer is a non-traditional student of Polynesian ancestry who is graduating with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies in just a few weeks.
As a non-traditional student, Fullmer has a few gaps in her academic pursuit for her bachelor’s degree, all of which were used to grow her gorgeous family. She is the mother of four children, aged 16, 9, 5, and 4, and has been happily married to her husband (and best friend!) Bill for 25 years.
Fullmer began pursuing higher education at Utah State in the fall of 2001. “When I took my first class at USU, I wondered what degree program I wanted to pursue,” said Fullmer. “[Somewhere] along the way, I decided that I wanted to pursue a degree in American Studies and to go to library school to become an academic librarian. I have always enjoyed research and thought that I wanted to find a career in supporting others in performing their research.”
After taking a bit of a break to have her three youngest children, Fullmer returned to USU in the spring of 2019. While she originally planned on continuing her degree in American Studies, Fullmer realized that her academic and professional goals had changed. “As I took my first Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) class, it felt like I had come home after being away for a long time! I loved my instructors and coursework, and everything I was learning aligned with my goals and values.” Fullmer felt inspired and came to the conclusion to redirect her academic focus. “In my role as a mother, I became interested in pursuing an education that would enable me to work as a marriage and family therapist. I also wanted to design and conduct my own research studies.”
She officially declared HDFS as her major and never looked back. In addition to her major, Fullmer has also been pursuing dual minors in Psychology and Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy, and “after 20 years, I’m finally graduating!”
Fullmer also has a lifetime of helpful experiences that shaped her passions and aptitudes. As a dual citizen, she split her childhood between the United States and New Zealand. She was raised both in southeastern Idaho and in the Bay of Islands (on the northern tip of New Zealand). “My parents are an interracial couple that wanted to expose their children to both cultures, and so I benefitted from being raised in both countries,” she said. And that is hardly the end of it— outside of Idaho and New Zealand, Fullmer has also lived in Utah, Texas, Arizona, and Hawaii.
But, above all, she is an Aggie through and through! Fullmer says she absolutely loves the atmosphere of the university and the surrounding community, “I decided to attend Utah State University while attending high school in Idaho. I have called Logan home for over 20 years and am so grateful for the wonderful experiences I have had here.” Fullmer has also spent her time at USU volunteering with local organizations like CAPSA and Logan Family Center. Her favorite USU events are True Aggie Night, the Polynesian Student Union’s Spring Luau, and all the basketball games, and her favorite Aggie Ice Cream Flavor is “a toss-up between lemon custard or (fittingly) True Aggie Night.” Tandoori Oven and their coconut chicken kurma with naan bread also get her stamp of approval— which means a lot, as cooking and baking are some of her favorite hobbies.
In discussing her academic achievements, Fullmer is most excited to talk about her research. After having worked as an undergraduate teaching fellow and an undergraduate research assistant, her greatest interest currently is in intervention work in underrepresented minority communities. Her content analysis research is ongoing, as she is reviewing the three top Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) journals from the past decade with a focus on what types of intervention initiatives have been done in different racial/ethnic minority communities. “As a racial minority myself, I am keenly aware of the mental health disparities that exist for minority communities. And I’m also curious to see how the systemic approach to therapy differs from other modalities and approaches for racial/ethnic minority communities,” she said. “I suspect the holistic nature of systemic therapy would be beneficial for many of these communities since systemic therapy aligns with many communities’ cultural beliefs and values.” For her work, she was recently awarded the College of Education Scholar of the Year.
But, she says, she will be taking advantage of a gap year to rest, to enjoy being a full-time mother again, support her husband as he is building a new business, and maybe even study a little for the GRE. Fullmer is planning on applying for master’s programs in Marriage and Family Therapy this December, and will hopefully begin pursuing her graduate degree in the fall of 2022.
When asked about her goals for her gap year, Fuller said they mostly consist of “watching my oldest child get his driver’s license and dating this coming summer and taking a much needed vacation with my family,” in addition to “applying for an MFT master’s program, completing the second phase of my content analysis, and getting it published this summer.”
But what Fullmer says is most important for students to acknowledge and allow is that life doesn’t always go according to plan— and it doesn’t have to. “I believe it’s essential to recognize that life throws us curveballs, and perhaps life turns out different than you envisioned. Being open to new experiences, like taking a leave of absence or being a non-traditional student, is not a negative and can be quite the opposite, can be a positive,” she said. “I have appreciated the life experiences, growth, and knowledge I bring as a non-traditional student and student-parent.”
Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Sage Souza is a junior studying political science and Spanish. In her free time, she enjoys long walks on the beach, making too many playlists on Spotify, and retweeting Karl Marx fancams.
—sage.souza@usu.edu
@sageksouza