November 3, 2025 | Emily Reier ’28
For many first-generation students, college can feel like stepping into a room where everyone else got the instructions. Nicolette Fulton ’02 remembers that feeling well, and during Seahawks Give 2025, she set out to change it.
Fulton offered a $1,000 matching challenge to support the Seahawks First Fund, which helps first-generation students access resources, mentorship and a sense of belonging. Within hours, 27 others — including fellow alumni, parents, employees and students — joined her, raising $1,580. Overall, the Seahawks First Fund raised nearly $3,000 as part of the Seahawks Give campaign.
“Supporting first-generation students is personal for me, because I have been there,” said Fulton. “As a first-gen alum, I see it as both a responsibility and an honor to help others navigate their own path with the support, guidance, and belief they deserve.”
Years ago, Fulton was one of those students — new to North Carolina, unfamiliar with the college process, and unsure of where she belonged.
“We had just moved to North Carolina from Florida, and I felt completely out of place,” said Fulton. “Back home, I was in honors and AP classes, involved in clubs and surrounded by people who believed in my future. But after the move, everything shifted. Guidance counselors started pushing me toward classes like home economics and typing, like college wasn’t even on the table.”
Still, she held onto her goal. “I didn’t know much about schools in North Carolina, but I did know that I still wanted to go to college,” she said. “UNCW was the only school I applied to. It reminded me of home and felt like place where I could find my way again.”
Once on campus, Fulton focused on one thing: law school. “I didn’t have a family roadmap to follow, but I knew what I had to do: get involved, make connections and find my own way forward.”
Through ACE and Student Government, she said, “I found a community and I found myself. I made lifelong friends, discovered the leader inside me and built the kind of confidence that allowed me to open doors I didn’t even know existed — just by having the courage to ask.
She also remembers moments of doubt and the people who helped her keep going. “Whenever doubt and imposter syndrome crept in, (former Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs) Pat Leonard would remind me how far I had already come,” said Fulton. “That meant everything to me.”
Today, Fulton is General Counsel for Cape Fear Public Utility Authority and a proud board member of the UNCW Alumni Association. “Serving on the Alumni Association board is one of the most meaningful ways I have been able to give back to a place that shaped so much of who I am,” she said.
“UNCW wasn’t just a university — it was the foundation for so many parts of my life: my education, my leadership journey, my community, and even my family.”
Fulton says she continues to stay connected through community service, professional partnerships and simply by sharing Seahawk stories. “Staying connected feels natural because UNCW is woven into my story.”
Her hope is that more alumni will help build that same sense of belonging for today's first-gen students. “As alumni, we carry the power to open doors that once felt out of reach, and to remind students that they don’t have to walk this path alone,” said Fulton. “Giving back is how we pave the way. It’s how we say: you belong here, and you matter.”
To learn more about how you can support UNCW and impact the Seahawk student experience, visit giving.uncw.edu.