Julie Fulbright
At the age of 52, when many people are thinking about retirement, Julie Fulbright, Associate Professor of English at Cleveland State Community College, decided to pursue a completely new direction in her life. An English instructor for 26 years, Fulbright started the nursing program at Cleveland State in January. She teaches English composition and literature during the day and takes nursing classes at night.
“My whole life has shifted in the past year with new adventures, which I love,” said Fulbright.
“I’m excited about nursing and just taking a different direction in life. This is something that I’ve
always been interested in, but I was just too afraid to try it. I finally just jumped off into the deep
end and enrolled in my first prerequisite science class to see if I could do it.”
Incorporating the studying techniques that she teaches her students, Fulbright says that being a
student again is a new and refreshing change, but she admits that she has experienced anxiety
about managing all the course work while continuing to work full-time.
“I knew going into it that the benchmarks were strict, and rightly so,” she said. “This is a profession that deals with human lives. I am just trying to adjust to the type of work and assessments we are doing. It’s very different from anything I’ve ever done. Being a student again has really opened my eyes to how old I am and how differently my brain works at 52 versus 20. I am facing more challenges - physically and mentally - that I didn’t expect.”
As an associate professor, Fulbright has been an active member of the Cleveland State faculty.
She served over eight years as the Humanities/Communications Department Chair, she has co-
led two study abroad trips, and she has served on numerous committees. In the community, she
is also on the Alzheimer’s Walk Committee for Cleveland/Bradley County.
The transition to student was not only a change for her, but for her colleagues as well. Dr. Jim
Peters, Professor of Biology, has known Fulbright since he started at the college 15 years ago.
He said, “To be honest, I was a bit nervous about having a colleague in class, but that feeling
quickly faded. Julie is an incredibly conscientious and dedicated student. Her background as a
teacher naturally shone through, as she often took on a leadership role, supporting and encouraging her peers. It was truly a pleasure having her in class.”
Dr. Stephen Hays, Professor of Biology, said, “While Julie was a colleague ever since I started
working at Cleveland State in 2008, we didn't really have that much interaction. She was an
English person, and I was a biology/healthcare person. Overall, Julie was an absolute pleasure to
teach. Humble, inquisitive, and very hard working. I know she will succeed. It was a privilege to
be her teacher and (hopefully) help her educational journey a bit, and I'm happy to call her a
friend.”
Originally from Chattanooga, Fulbright earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Tennessee Wesleyan University in 1995 and a Master of Arts in English Literature from Middle Tennessee
State University (MTSU) in 1998. She thought she would pursue a career in journalism due to
her background writing for her high school and college newspapers, but she decided to pursue
English instead and was accepted into a Graduate Teaching Assistant program at MTSU. In
2001, she moved back to southeast Tennessee and started teaching at Cleveland State.
Fulbright is also an author. In 2023, she published Missing Pieces: A Dementia Story for Caregivers, a nonfiction documentary of her journey as a caregiver for her parents. In 2024, she released her first fiction novel, a young adult piece, titled Cross and Thorn, and in January, she announced the release of a second young adult fiction novel, When Ghosts Talk.
Dr. Melodee Alexander, Associate Psychology Professor, has worked with Fulbright for eight
years and was her instructor for the Lifespan Psychology class. She said, “It is not easy to walk
away from a long career to begin a new, very different career. Julie has allowed her passion to
supersede her fears about the big life change. Her patients will benefit from her care.”
When asked what advice she has for someone considering a major career change after 50, Fulbright said, “I would encourage anyone to pursue education - no matter what stage of life. If this ends up not working out, I have still gained so much knowledge and many new friends in the process. You never know what you are capable of until you try.”