Julien Hoffman joined Nebraska Extension on November 24 as our Community Engagement and Wellness AmeriCorps VISTA member. During her service term, she is providing leadership to rural wellness projects by designing and implementing a delivery plan to improve the reach and sustainability of these projects in disaster-impacted communities. She will also design and implement a delivery plan to improve the reach and sustainability of the Volunteer Reception Center (VRC) training program. Julien’s Extension project mentors are Soni Cochran, Susan Harris, and Ashley Mueller.
Julien is from Lincoln, Nebraska. She is a 2020 University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate, where she majored in English and Women’s and Gender Studies and minored in Theatre. Julien holds certificates in Civic Engagement and Wilderness First Responder. During her time as an undergraduate student, Julien worked for the Center for Civic Engagement, the UCARE program, and Love Library.
Julien enjoys traveling (but not during a pandemic), going hiking at National Parks, reading comic books, going to Broadway musicals, and playing video games with her extremely competitive siblings. She considers herself to be life-long learner, and her career aspirations continue to grow and change. At the core of her aspirations is to find a career that fuses her love of the arts and media with social change and civic engagement. Julien is currently enrolled in a fashion program at the Parsons School of Design, and she is exploring graduate degree options.
Learn about Julien in her own words:
What drew you to national service and AmeriCorps VISTA?
“Service has always been a priority for me, I love to help others and work on community projects. I have been interested in community service programs like AmeriCorps and PeaceCorps since I was in middle school, but I didn't seriously consider AmeriCorps as an option until fall of 2019 when I got cold feet about doing a year of teaching English in Bulgaria through the Fulbright program! I kept meeting people who did AmeriCorps at that time and realized I liked the mission and support that the program offers better.”
What are you looking forward to as an AmeriCorps VISTA member with Nebraska Extension?
“I am looking forward to further honing my media and communications skills, giving back to Nebraska, and sharing positive wellness practices in rural communities while celebrating their unique identities. I am especially excited to use my experience in communication and the arts to promote the importance of mental health and lift some of the stigma that is attached to mental illness.”
Julien’s email address is: julien.hoffman@unl.edu Reach out to welcome her and say hi!
More information about Nebraska Extension’s partnership with AmeriCorps to tackle poverty can be found here: https://disaster.unl.edu/americorps-vista-program