A Dream is a Wish Your Hope Makes

With a little hope, a humanities education, and a lot of hard work, advertising and public relations alumna — and Hope, Arkansas native — Vickie Lynn Fielitz B.A. ’91 has turned her career dreams into a reality.

From coming to the University of Arkansas, to securing three incredible internships, to a magical 18-year tenure as a leader at the Walt Disney Company, then founding her own business, Fielitz has steadily built on each opportunity that came her way.

Now, Fielitz is working to help first-generation college students in Fulbright College who have study abroad aspirations and goals as big as hers.

Through a bequest she and her husband Robert are creating, Fielitz said she hopes future generations of students will have more international educational experiences and realize how interconnected we all are.

“I’ve been a lot of places around this big world, but I am still proud to be a small-town girl,” Fielitz said. “I wouldn’t trade my roots for anything, but I realize I wouldn’t be who I am — or where I am — without a lot of support and encouragement. Now it’s time to start giving that back.”

The road to success wasn’t always smooth for Fielitz, who struggled when she was younger to find an outlet for her big aspirations and make sense of where she belonged.

“I came from a pretty modest upbringing,” Fielitz said. “Thankfully, I had a few amazing teachers and wonderful mentors from work and church who really supported and encouraged me.”

Fielitz credits her determined mother and an academic scholarship with helping her get to the U of A, where her fascination with international cultures began during a class in Greek literature.

“I remember being fascinated by the stories from Homer’s The Iliad,” Fielitz said. “I loved imagining what this mythical city of Troy would look like, and I dreamt of sailing through the Greek islands someday.”

Then, when Fielitz took a journalism ethics course, her concept of the international world started to shift from fantasy to reality.

Vickie with Mickey and Minnie Mouse

“It was the first time I really started paying attention to the news outside of Arkansas. Reading Newsweek and Time magazine was part of the curriculum. It made me curious and interested in what was happening in the world,” she said.

Fielitz also credits the course and the then-Lemke Journalism Department’s Advertising and Public Relations program for instilling her with professional integrity and teaching her to think creatively.

The confidence she gained in her courses inspired Fielitz to try more new things, including working a series of internships that would lead her on an unexpected journey. The first was with Corrinnia Briggs Advertising on the Fayetteville downtown square, and the second was as a promotions assistant with the Rouse Company, which managed Fayetteville’s Northwest Arkansas Mall. However, it was her third internship that would prove most influential on her future career.

Fielitz was searching for something different and was torn between two options. While deciding between the Peace Corps and the Disney College Program, she turned to her advisor, Joe Spivey, for help.

“Joe asked a lot of great questions and really helped me think, but after maybe 30 minutes, he said rather emphatically, ‘Vickie, you need to go to Disney World!’”

So, Fielitz did, moving to Orlando for her junior year and “coming to life,” she said. “Now, the Magic Kingdom was my classroom.”

Fielitz thrived in the theme-park environment, working as an attraction hostess everywhere from the historic Hall of Presidents to the raucous Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, learning operational and professional excellence.

Fielitz also learned that “exceeding expectations was the expectation. I was a cast member, not an employee, taught to be part of a show for the guests.”

“As part of the guest experience, you owe it to your audience to give them your very best,” she said. “I loved that. It helped me think about how I was showing up and how important it was to bring my A-game every single day.”

While at Disney, Fielitz had roommates from Germany and France, which was as much of a learning experience for her as working in the park.

“I didn’t fully understand it all at that age, how transformative that experience was for me — it was life- changing,” she said. “Disney was the first place where I really felt like I belonged.”

By the time she graduated, Fielitz had three internships under her belt and a wealth of skills that would translate well into her next phase of life. Those are the kinds of experiences she hopes to create for future Fulbright College graduates.

“Those internships made a huge difference in my career and my life,” she said. “There are so many young people with potential who could grow and benefit from similar opportunities.”

Fielitz said internships are also key because they offer the chance to get real, hands-on experience where the things you learn in the classroom can be applied.

“You begin to learn you’re your own experiences — good and bad. Not being afraid of failure and taking risks is important, too,” she said. “Sometimes we face challenges, and the best we can do is survive. When that happens, you have to keep pushing to survive. When things are going well, you push to thrive. Life usually presents challenges and opportunities for both.”

For Fielitz, thriving meant heading back to Disney full-time, now in a professional role.

“That was the beginning of the career I loved, using all the things that I learned in school,” she said.

Fielitz worked on a variety of marketing projects, working with best-in-class creative agencies, and kept learning from Disney’s world-class Imagineers. Her hard work paid off, and she was assigned to oversee the opening of the first field sales and marketing office for Disney Signature Services in Chicago, Illinois.

Her successful leadership of this 40-person team eventually landed Fielitz back in Orlando, traveling and supporting other businesses for Disney. But after nearly two decades of incredible success, Fielitz began to wonder what was next.

“I was completely committed to my career, and I loved Disney,” she said. “I was grateful for the opportunities I had, but I was ready for something different. I needed to grow.”

“I still expected my next steps would be at Disney,” she added. “And then boom, a month later, I met Robert. Love makes us do crazy things, right?”

And that’s how Fielitz came to leave her full-time job at Disney and move to Amsterdam in 2014 with a new husband and a new life ahead.

“That transition was, at first, very hard,” Fielitz said. “I needed GPS just to find my way walking to the grocery store.”

She struggled to adapt to a new place without the career that had been such a large part of her identity. Much like in her post-college days, though, this moment of uncertainty would prove to be another pivotal turning point.

“So, I leaned into my core competencies of marketing, sales, and leadership and founded my company, The Leadership Lab,” Fielitz said. “And one of my first clients was Booking.com.”

Her first project involved 25 leaders from 17 different countries.

“I had a big impostor syndrome moment, but leaned into what I believe to be universal truths. We all want to be seen and heard. We all want to be valued and appreciated for who we are and the contributions we make. Where we’re from or how we’re raised doesn’t change that.”

Her approach worked well, and soon Fielitz was traveling from Dublin to Dubai and everywhere in between, coaching multiple executives and CEOs on the art of effective leadership.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fielitz and Robert moved back to the U.S., settling in Charleston, South Carolina. Fielitz got involved in the community and became deeply engaged with organizations like AMOR Healing Kitchen.

These experiences ignited her passion for philanthropy, sparking a desire to support programs and organizations making a difference. At the U of A, she reconnected with Fulbright College to focus on creating more study abroad and international education opportunities for students.

Fielitz said she hopes to help students go beyond academics, to gain perspective and build confidence, resilience and a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them.

To find their own paths to success, Fielitz urges students to approach the world with courage, to show up and work hard, and to “think about what you want and set goals. Pay attention to the things that you love to do and figure out how to do more of them.”

“Have an insatiable appetite for curiosity and consider other perspectives that may be different than your own. Build relationships with people you trust and respect. Create genuine connections,” she said.

“I would also encourage students to dream big. No different for any of us. Dream big and don’t give up. Most things in life worth having may not come easily, but if they are worth having, they are worth the effort. Walt Disney said it best, ‘If you can dream it, you can do it.’”