"Just follow the group and you'll be fine."

Those were the words Fatima Macias Ortiz remembers hearing at UNT orientation after she told theatre advisor Donna Marquet she wanted to switch her major.

"I was sitting at the Super Pit waiting for advising and my tag literally said biology," Macias Ortiz says.

After Marquet told her which direction to go, Macias Ortiz took off with the theatre majors and never looked back. That small act led to big changes. Life-altering, in fact.

When Macias Ortiz thinks back on who she was her first year at UNT and the woman she is now four years later, the differences are obvious.

That freshman in 2021 got lost going to her classes and had no idea how to do her taxes. She had no car and barely any acting credits to her name. And, if you would've told her she would somehow balance working three jobs, taking eight classes and attending play rehearsals, she would've been dumbfounded that she could accomplish all that at once.

"Even just my voice tone as a performer has changed so much," says Macias Ortiz, who's landed multiple roles in UNT theatre productions as a student and dreams of building a career in acting.

Learning to Succeed

In a few weeks, she'll accomplish a major milestone that no one in her family has before -- graduating from college.

"It's going to be so rewarding because I feel like I am setting an example and paving a way for my siblings. I want them to know they have the option, and it can be done," she says.

But there have been plenty of times she's thought she couldn't do it. When schedules were so chaotic and deadlines were piling up, the enticing thought of leaving school behind crept in. She never caved.

Instead, as a student living on her own, she has learned valuable lessons about time management, how to refocus her priorities and how letting something go isn't failure -- like admitting she needed to drop her dance minor once she realized it just wouldn't be feasible to finish before her planned graduation date.

"I'm still grateful I took those classes though because I think they really contributed to me getting a dancer part in Cabaret this semester. It's been easier for me to pick up choreography."

With each role she's performed, Macias Ortiz feels like she has learned a little something new about herself and the impact theatre can have in the world.

Take her first lead role as Whatsername in American Idiot her sophomore year. She hadn't even planned to audition for the part, but submitted a video last minute and landed the role. American Idiot director and adjunct professor Nathan Autrey, along with her theatre advisor Marquet, ended up becoming some of her most valued mentors, pushing her to become a better actor and providing guidance for school and life.

The experience as Whatsername also opened her eyes to the influence she could have on stage after multiple people -- especially women -- approached her to commend her performance and thank her for portraying a character navigating a tough romantic relationship similar to what they had gone through.

"With theatre, I always want to leave people with a good message. Obviously, the dancing, the sparkles and the lights are great, but the message that you leave, it's very important to me."

Going the Distance

This semester, the pace has slowed a little for Macias Ortiz. She only has one job and is taking five classes -- three of them online, which has allowed her to move back to Fort Worth to be closer to family. She says it's nice to not have to be somewhere nearly every minute of the day. It's a little reward in her last semester for the years of putting in 18-hour days between school, work and acting.

With her time as a college student waning, she's looking ahead to the next chapter with bittersweet optimism.

"It's scary, but exciting," Macias Ortiz says. "I have this thing with my boyfriend. We always say, 'You have to put the work in and let the universe provide.'"

She's planning her first trip to New York City in June where she'll undoubtedly attend a few Broadway shows. After that, she's not sure what comes next, but one thing she is certain of -- she wouldn't feel nearly as confident to face the world and start a career if she hadn't come to UNT.

"I think my life would have been completely different. I just think about every single step and every single thing that aligned to bring me to where I am today. From the classes I've taken, the jobs that I've had and the people I've met -- they always leave you with something. It's like the butterfly effect -- every little thing makes you who you are."

Read our 2022 article about Fatima Macias Ortiz’s first year in college.