Spanish teacher Marly Fullerton aspired to become a doctor while she was growing up in Puerto Rico. However, she ended up on a very different career path that took her from the Special Forces to South Lakes.
Fullerton graduated from high school when she was 15 years old and enrolled in college. Her goal was to become a doctor by the time she was 22, but she became very ill during her second year of college and was unable to continue her studies. Although she received treatment, she did not return to school.
Meanwhile, her brother joined the military and her cousin also wanted to enlist. She accompanied her cousin, who planned to take the aptitude test, used to screen people for military service, and was encouraged to try it as well.
“I passed the test with flying colors and was offered an ROTC scholarship,” Fullerton said. “I decided to take them up on their offer and came to the United States to study at Kansas State University. After that, I decided to join the military because I liked the ROTC.”
Fullerton chose to go on active duty.
“I went into military intelligence,” Fullerton said. “Because of my Spanish background, they trained me to listen in on conversations. I also went to the Army Airborne School.”
Fullerton served with the Army 313 Military Intelligence Battalion and later decided to continue her education.
“They paid for my graduate school, and I became a Foreign Area Officer when I did my specialization in Latin American studies,” Fullerton said.
She was attached to the Seventh Special Forces Group, which was stationed in Fort Bragg, North
Carolina and operated in Latin America.
“I was their resource person for cultural and geographical information,” Fullerton said. “Part of my job was to teach Spanish to them and get them ready for their missions.”
Fullerton traveled with Special Forces as an intermediary.
“I went to the countries with the commander and some of the enlisted personnel as a liaison,” Fullerton said. “I gave them briefings and, if necessary, went with them in the beginning to make sure that everything was taken care of.”
With Fullerton’s help, they conducted combat operations, training, and host nation support.
“They worked with and trained other militaries,” Fullerton said. “What a lot of people don’t realize, though, is that the military forces do a lot of community service in foreign countries as well. They would go to places like Honduras and take care of the population. For instance, they built schools and roads.”
Fullerton also found love through the Army.
“I met my husband while I was in the military,” Fullerton said. “He was a Navy Seal and he went to the JFK Language School, which I was the director of. We got married and had a baby.”
Fullerton and her husband soon realized that raising a daughter while they were both in the military was not feasible.
“My husband was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia and he was deployed a lot,” Fullerton said. “My daughter was with me in Fort Bragg, and by the time she was four, she started saying that she wanted her daddy closer. That’s when I decided to get out.”
Fullerton and her husband decided that one of them needed to leave the military for their daughter’s sake and that she should be the one to do it.
“With my educational background, it was easier for me to find a job than it would have been for my husband because he was very specialized,” Fullerton said.
Fullerton considered going back to school and becoming a physician’s assistant, but in the meantime she decided to work as a substitute teacher.
“They needed a teacher right away so they gave me a long-term sub position,” Fullerton said. “The principal said that all I needed to do was take classes and then take a test to become a fulltime teacher. I decided to take the test without taking classes first to see what areas I needed to focus on. I scored 798/800 on the Spanish part and passed the second part of the test, so they gave me my license.”
Fullerton had mixed feelings about receiving a teacher’s license without taking classes.
“It bothered me because I couldn’t believe that I was given a teacher’s license without ever taking any classes,” Fullerton said. “I decided to take classes anyway. At that time, my daughter had proven to be gifted, so I went back to school to get a degree in gifted education. That’s my second master’s degree.”
Even with a master’s degree in gifted education, Fullerton still felt the need to prove to herself that she was a good teacher.
This motivated her to pursue National Board Certification in the first year it was offered for foreign language teachers. Not only was she one of the 98 out of 311 people to pass the assessment in the United States, and seven in Virginia, she was also the highest scorer in the nation.
“That’s what I needed to give me the confidence to realize that I was actually a good teacher,” Fullerton said. “It also gave me the opportunity to tour many places nationwide and help with the National Board Certification process.”
A tragic twist of fate led Fullerton to leave her previous job and travel to Reston in 2004.
“My husband passed away in 2004,” Fullerton said. “I left everything that I was doing because I couldn’t stay in the same place.”
Before his death, Fullerton’s husband took a position with the CIA. They had planned to move here so that he could work in Langley. They had visited the area and looked at Thomas Jefferson High School, where Fullerton was encouraged to take a teaching position. However, she did not get a good impression of the school.
“I saw the grey building and metal sculptures and I got a cold impression from TJ,” Fullerton said. “I also noticed that there wasn’t a lot of interaction between the kids when they came out of the school. It was very individualized, and the kids were all carrying huge backpacks and looking at the ground.”
She got a much more favorable impression of South Lakes when she accidentally came across it later that year.
“When my husband passed away, I was very depressed and I just got in my car and started driving,” Fullerton said. “I ended up at the Reston Sheraton where we had stayed when we had come to visit, and I decided to explore Reston. Somehow, I took a wrong turn and ended up at the school. The warm orangey color of the building, the blooming trees, and the laughter of the kids walking out of the building gave a good impression.”
She went into the building and discussed a vacant Spanish teaching position with Aimee Monticchio, who was the assistant principal for foreign languages, and Realista Rodriguez, who was the principal at the time.
“It turns out that the day before, their foreign language department chair had resigned and she happened to be one of the seven people who did the National Board Certification with me,”
Fullerton said. “It just so happens that the woman who left had similar qualifications, so they wanted to hire me on the spot.”
Fullerton accepted their offer, and has been teaching here ever since.
“The kids were wonderful,”
Fullerton said. “I don’t think I could have made it through 2004 if it wasn’t for the students I had that year. It’s been a great experience and it’s just what I needed.”