I Am UAA: Michelle Fletcher
by Kathleen McCoy |
A.A. Accounting '07
B.B.A. '10
Hometown: Eagle River, Alaska
Fun Fact: She has been a volunteer gardener for the City of Anchorage for three years.
![I Am UAA: Michelle Fletcher I Am UAA: Michelle Fletcher](/news/archive/2012/08/_images/20120801-Michelle.jpg)
A condition that can be contagious, volunteering has simply always been a part of
Michelle's repertoire. So has being part of a team for this former softball, basketball
and cross-country competitor.
"It just recently dawned on me that I've gotten a lot of support from my parents and
past coaches and teachers," says the 33-year-old benefits specialist with Bristol
Bay Native Corporation (BBNC). "I think when I was growing up they envisioned us doing
something great. I just feel that I need to give back."
So when Michelle saw an article last year about the Alaska Humanities Forum's Leadership
Anchorage program, she also saw another opportunity to get involved.
"Leadership Anchorage exposes its participants to all these great leaders in the community,"
she says. "I really wanted to have that network, and the culminating community service
projects were a way to give back to the community. Everything just seemed to compound:
the quality of people, the amount of knowledge and the different perspectives people
brought to the group."
From recently retired Anchorage School District superintendent Carol Comeau to Yup'ik
artist Perry Eaton-the level of presenters through Leadership Anchorage were impressive.
"It was so awesome because it felt like it was all homegrown talent," Michelle says.
For the culminating assignment she worked with four other Leadership Anchorage participants
on what they called the Digital Storytelling Project for the Anchorage Public Library.
The group captured interviews and photos of library users and assembled them into
a marketing resource for the library.
In addition to Leadership Anchorage, Michelle is also involved with Training Without
Walls, a program for shareholders of BBNC who are looking toward leadership or management
positions. Although she didn't grow up in the region that BBNC serves, she is a shareholder
through her Yup'ik mother and is keen to learn more about the people she serves in
her human resources position.
Lastly, Michelle is excited about a new role she is taking on as an advisory board
member and volunteer coordinator for the local nonprofit Girls on the Run. It began
by making a pact with her family (husband Adam and 13-year-old son Alex) to be more
active together. Alex asked her to run a 5K with him and Michelle saw it as another
occasion to give her time and expertise to help others. "It'll be very exciting,"
she says, "doing something that involves sports and children, and for the first time
working with young girls." She'll be involved in helping coordinate the three local
running events that Girls on the Run puts on to promote the health and well-being
of elementary school girls.
With all the volunteering and networking Michelle already does, there couldn't be
much more room on her plate, could there? Well, room enough for a 4-year-old son (not
quite volunteer ready....yet) and an M.B.A. You read that right. With an A.A. in accounting
and a bachelor's in business administration already on her resume, Michelle is confident
that UAA will continue to have what she needs to take the next step in her human resources
career. So she is gearing up for round three: an M.B.A. starting this fall.
"The more I investigated M.B.A. programs, the happier I realized I'd be at UAA," says
the first generation high school and college graduate. "I'll be going to school with
my colleagues who are just entering the workforce or already established in the workforce
in Anchorage. I am really looking forward to that."
Chronic learning. It's another one of Michelle's conditions that we hope is infectious.
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