Why hello there! I’m Julie, a junior here at Suffolk, with a major in the Fine Arts through the New England School of Art and Design.  I am originally from the Midwest, born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, so one could say I am a long way from home, although I do consider Boston my home.

      A little background on myself, I transferred into Suffolk after my freshmen year of college. I attended Eastern Michigan University where I swam Division 1 and was a Business Major with a focus in Entrepreneurship.   After ending my 9 year swimming career due to injuries I realized I wanted bigger and better things, but above all I wanted to challenge myself. I planned on staying in Michigan through my sophomore year but after visiting my sister, who attended Emerson, I realized that Boston was where I needed to go. In less than a month I had applied to schools, narrowed down my list, decided to change my major, and came back to Boston to visit my top two choices.  The personalized attention and help that I received from Suffolk on this visit became the deciding factors in my final decision.  I immediately felt at home and spent all summer awaiting the beginning of a new chapter in my life.

      Since arriving at Suffolk in the Fall of 2008 I have honestly and truly found my niche in the world. I have never felt so welcome, so free to be my own person and so connected to a community of students.  I arrived as an Interior Design major but after a month discovered the world of Fine Arts and made the switch for the better.  I have been challenged, supported and encouraged to discover the opportunities Suffolk has to offer its student body, and am still faced with endless opportunities.    Never really one to be involved, I have been inspired by the student body here to extend myself in all ways possible.  I am President of the Fine Arts Club, Vice President of the Ultimate Frisbee club (both of which I helped  get started), I am an Ambassador, and Orientation Leader and I even stayed in Boston this past summer to work for Suffolk as a Conference Assistant.  Suffolk has an extremely active student body, partly due to the commuter population of the students but more because you can only feel truly connected to your school if you put in the time to help it be a better place for future students.

      With two years of school left, I look back on my previous year and think “GO JULIE!!!” I never thought I would feel this connected to a place or so at home in such a busy city.  I look forward to the end of college because, although it will be extremely sad to leave Suffolk (and trust me tears will flow) I know that I will be prepared to face whatever life throws at me.   I cannot give you a definite plan on what I want to do because, honestly, I have absolutely no idea.  But I will share my ideal dream: I plan on graduating from Suffolk with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, maybe learn some tricks of the trade and then move overseas to settle in either Poland, Greece, or England, where I will set up shop as a glassblower (and potter), and live happily ever after.

      No matter your decision, I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and remember: this is your future, paint your own path and follow your heart, do not fear the unknown or what changes may come.  The end is just a reason to start again.