Alumni Feature - Jade Fulce

A&M-Texarkana alumnae Jade Fulce goes to work every day in a large office building. A very large office building, to be exact. Her building houses more than 25,000 employes and includes credit unions, dozens of restaurants, hair salons, coffee shops, cellular service providers, clothing stores, a dentist and a post office. Jade currently works in the Pentagon as the Strategic Advisor and Spokesperson for the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. She has been in her current role for two years.

Originally from Houston, Texas, Jade completed her undergraduate studies in Broadcast Journalism and International Relations at Syracuse University. After completing her undergraduate degree Jade was awarded a four-year Army Material and Command fellowship, where she was originally trained to be a logistician. She was eventually able to talk to her supervisors and change her training to specialize in public affairs, which more closely aligned with her education and interests. During the four-year fellowship she was required to spend 13 months in school. She was at Red River Army Depot (RRAD) during part of this time, which is when she earned her MBA from A&M-Texarkana. This process involved taking some classes remotely and others that were taught in RRAD facilities. During her fellowship she was also stationed at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas, in Germany, and at the US Army Installation Management Command HQ in San Antonio, Texas.

She then relocated to the Washington, DC metro area to work in strategic communications at the Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA), a federally- run school for the dependents of service members stationed outside the United States. While at the DODEA she worked in both Atlanta and Washington DC as the DOD Americas Public Affairs Communications Director, working with schools in all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico and Cuba.

After her time at the DODEA Jade worked at the CDC’s Joint Information Center as a spokesperson during the Covid-19 Pandemic. In her current role at the Pentagon, she works daily with members of the Pentagon Press Corps, where she facilitates roundtable discussions and makes sure press corps members have access to the policy officials necessary to share their information with the world.

“My degree from A&M-Texarkana helped me to become more analytical,” she said. “It helped me to understand how the business world worked. It made me a better communicator because it taught me to see things from multiple perspectives and directions, and to ask better questions about processes.”

To prospective students Jade says to explore all opportunities, be prepared to pivot, and to take on new experiences. By doing those things she has been able to tailor her career to exactly what she enjoys the most, which is serving the American population.

Jade has recently applied for an internship with Congress, where she hopes to learn more about the lawmaking process and how money is appropriated. “I’m constantly trying to learn about different topics,” she said, adding that one of her current interests is the world of Artificial Intelligence. As far as her future is concerned, Jade knows she will continue a career in the public service sector and has not ruled out the possibility of running for office.