Harvard, Stanford & Wharton All Say ‘Yes’ To This Inspiring Applicant

Jerome Fulton. Courtesy photo

OVERCOMING A ROCKY START

Fulton’s LinkedIn post about his journey to business school (see below) is undeniably compelling, which explains why, as of July 1, it had received more than 16,000 likes and nearly 1,000 comments.

“Let me tell you a little bit about my journey,” it begins, before chronicling the harrowing series of events at the beginning of Fulton’s life, starting with the murder of his father and continuing with the death of his mother, the custody fight, and a rocky start to his schooling.

But by his pre-teen years, Fulton had begun to turn things around, both academically and behaviorally. A salutatorian in middle school, he graduated high school a semester early in late 2010, beginning his freshman year at Florida the next fall. Once a Gator, he really began to shine, making the Dean’s List six times and earning an Anderson Scholarship for maintaining a 3.9 GPA for consecutive years, and a Reitz Scholarship for exemplary academic, leadership, and service. In 2015, the year he graduated, he was named to the University of Florida Hall of Fame, one of the most prestigious honors awarded to Florida students: Only about 25 each year are named Florida Hall of Famers.

What followed — becoming a CPA, taking on consulting roles at Ernst & Young and Deloitte, and frequent speaking and panel engagements where he shares his story — have all helped fulfill his long-time plan to get an MBA.

Long-time, as in going back to his earliest memories.

“I remember being in elementary school saying, ‘I’m going to get an MBA by the time I’m 26,'” he recalls.

‘STAY THE COURSE’

Fulton shared his story on LinkedIn — as he has shared it to audiences in past — to help others see that even the worst tragedies and challenges can be overcome.

“I wanted to let individuals know that anything is possible,” he tells P&Q. “You don’t have to have this cookie-cutter upbringing or experiences — anything is possible.

“I’m a pretty transparent person, I do speaking and I do a lot of panels, and I talk about my story and different things that I’ve experienced. But I want to paint a clear picture because I look perfect on paper, with getting into every place and the GPA, and the CPA, and the Hall of Fame, and working at these great companies. But I really wanted to demystify that and show people that it’s like the iceberg: LinkedIn is such a polished profile where everything looks good and you post your highest moments — it’s like a highlight reel. But there’s more than meets the eye. And that’s what inspired me to repost it and add onto it and just show my journey and the different things that I’ve experienced.”

He says while sharing his journey, even the most painful parts of it, may help others by showing that even the hardest circumstances are surmountable. But it also helps him.

“It’s not the only part of who I am, which makes it not as painful,” he says. “Because I think a lot of times when people are still sitting in that pain, it’s harder. But because I’ve had life experiences and go to therapy, I’m able to process the different things I’ve experienced. I have triggers and I have days, but overall, I’m a go-getter, an upbeat person. So, I don’t stay down for too long.

“I really wanted to touch people and let them know that no matter what you’re going through, no matter what you’ve experienced, it gets better later. You just have to stay the course and continue to fight, and pivot as needed. But as long as you tap into your resilience, you ask for help, you persevere — it’s going to be fine. And that’s what I wanted people to take away from it.”

JEROME FULTON’S LINKEDIN POST 

Let me tell you a little bit about my journey:

April 1993: My father was murdered on the day of my parents’ baby shower.
May 1993: I was born to a 20 year-old woman, Angel B. Wilson, who was forced to be a single mother.
December 1998: My mother was murdered, shot 16 times.
September 2004: I was rejected from the Gifted and Talented program.
February 2005: I testified as a character witness in my mom’s murder trial.
June 1999 – September 2005: I was in the midst of a six-year custody battle.
May 2007: I graduated salutatorian from my middle school but wasn’t allowed to attend the ceremony.
December 2010: I graduated high school a semester early.
August 2011: I started my collegiate journey at UF.
December 2011: I finished my first semester with a 4.0 GPA.
December 2012: One of my professors accused me and 2 other Black students of cheating and tried to ruin our academic careers. Thankfully, he was unsuccessful.
April 2015: I was inducted into the UF Hall of Fame, and I received the Warrington College of Business’ Distinction in Leadership & Service Award.
May 2015: I graduated from the University of Florida with a BS in Accounting.
May 2016: I graduated from the University of Southern California with a Master of Accounting.
October 2016: I started my career with EY (one of the best decisions I made).
January 2018: I became a Certified Public Accountant (African Americans represent less than 1% of CPAs).
January 2019: I joined Deloitte Consulting.
November 2019: I incorporated my non-profit, the Angel B. Wilson Foundation (https://lnkd.in/eijVrv9).
March 2020: I joined MLT’s MBA Prep (I’m forever indebted to MLT).
November 2019 – August 2020: I took the GMAT 6 times; I wasn’t letting up.
February 2021 – March 2021: I got accepted into Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, UC Berkeley Haas, the Wharton School at UPenn, and Yale SOM. I was also waitlisted at Michigan Ross.
May 2021: I was passed up for promotion at work.
August 2021: I WILL BE A HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA CANDIDATE!

I used to say that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. However, I realized my beginning is just as important as my ending. I’m sure I will encounter more obstacles on this journey, but I will stand in my resilience and persevere. The moral of this unfinished story is to never give up; you are the master of your destiny.

See the next pages for Poets&Quants‘ interview with Jerome Fulton’s about his life and MBA journey, edited for length and clarity.

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.