Julie Theil is a third year Occupational Therapy major from New Jersey. In addition to being a full-time student, Julie is Resident Assistant at Independence Plaza, and office assistant for Residence Life. I had a chance to sit down with her between her busy class schedule and her involvement on campus to talk about her life here at PhilaU.
Aside from being an RA, Julie is involved with multiple other organizations on campus. I found that she is very passionate about dedicating her time to helping others. “I am in the PhilaU Choir and I took over Circle K, which is now SERVE”, Julie says. PhilaU SERVE is an independent community service based club that facilitates volunteering opportunities at various sites around Philadelphia. Some past events SERVE has done are helping out with the Special Olympics, volunteering at the Simpson House Retirement Home, and Boo at the Zoo, which is a Halloween event for kids at the Philadelphia Zoo. I asked about upcoming events for SERVE and The Schuykill River Clean Up seemed to be a possibility. This is when people from the Philadelphia area come together once or twice a year and pick up trash along the Schuykill River. This particular event is important to Julie. “We should always take care of out environment, and the Schuykill is a major part of our city. On her role in the club, Julie comments, “Since I’m going to grad school, I’m trying to stabilize it for next year. One of the main things is that we need money, so right now we’re going to have a fundraiser at the new Panera.” (If you are interested in helping out or getting involved with SERVE, you can visit Louise McShane in Kanbar room 301!)
Being an Occupational Therapy major can be very time consuming, especially when you’re also so involved on campus. However, when Julie does get some free time, she likes to spend it watching Netflix or crafting. “I watch a lot of TV, but I prefer to read, knit, work out, or play instruments.”, Julie says. Some of her favorite shows currently include, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Jane the Virgin, Crazy Ex-girlfriend, Scrubs, The Office, and Scandal.
Julie also enjoys using her free time to explor her local surroundings. Some of her favorite spots in Philadelphia are the Spiral Bookcase, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Spruce Harbor Park and Old City. “I’m just a big nerd who loves books, art and history. I always bring people to the spiral bookcase and PMA because the make me really happy. I highly recommend the PMA for a first date. Fancy, but casual, always something to talk about and it’s a public space with lots of security!”
One thing Julie can’t live without are her two pugs. “I love them. They’re my babies. I even took them canoeing with me once”, she says. As for the future, Julie wants to participate in politics and hopefully one day become a state senator.