Julianna Fellows
April 16, 2019
Julianna Fellows (2019).
Julianna Fellows is the Development Manager at JCI (Junior Chamber International), an international nonprofit headquartered in St. Louis that provides development opportunities for young leaders around the world to make sustainable impacts locally and globally. Previously, she lived in New York City for 2.5 years, and held fundraising positions at Citizen Schools New York and New Classrooms. In her free time, Julianna enjoy traveling and learning about other cultures. Post Truman, some of her vacation destinations have included Mexico, Iceland, and Israel.
What year did you graduate and what was your concentration?
I graduated in 2016 with a concentration in public communication.
Julianna (right) posing for a Student Senate promo pic (2014).
What extra-/co-curricular activities did you do?
I was involved in Lambda Pi Eta, Sigma Kappa, Student Senate, Residence Life, Office of Admission, and the International Student Affairs Office.
Did you go to grad school? If so, where? Was it immediately after you left Truman or did you wait? Why?
I plan to pursue a Masters degree in the future. I decided to not go right after Truman because I wanted to get some experience first.
What was your first job after graduation?
I relocated to New York City in July 2016 after I graduated, and took a position as an Americorps VISTA at Citizen Schools New York. In this role, I drafted grant proposals, reports, and letters of interest to foundations and corporations, as well as supported other fundraising activities.
Julianna at the 2016 Recognition Day for National Service in NYC.
What work do you do/What are you doing now?
After living in New York City for a few years, I decided to come back to the Midwest. In February, I started a new role at JCI, which is located in St. Louis. I am leading their fundraising team, and I’ve been charged with developing our strategies for our various fundraising campaigns. I am also managing an initiative of JCI, the Global Youth Empowerment Fund. This is truly my dream job as it’s a perfect balance for my professional career in fundraising and personal passion for empowering young leaders around the world.
How has your Liberal Arts/COMM education helped you?
Truman’s Liberal Arts program allowed me to take classes in a variety of areas besides my major. I spent a semester in Orlando, FL completing an internship through the Disney College Program, I spent a semester in Angers, France taking business classes with international students from around the world, and I spent a summer in Taiwan teaching ESL.
Julianna in France (left, 2016) and in Taiwan (right, 2015).
Truman offered me the flexibility to be able to take an entire year away from campus to complete an internship and study abroad, and I believe these experiences made me a more well-rounded person when I started my first full-time position.
Which class did you dislike at the time you took it, but now you’re grateful you took it?
While I generally liked all my classes in the Communication major, one of my least favorites was Communication Theory. At the time, a lot of the material seemed very abstract and not useful for my career; however, I kept the book, and it’s the book I reference the most since I’ve graduated, as a lot of the theories I’ve seen play out in real life at work.
What was your greatest accomplishment at Truman?
I think one of the hardest classes in the Communication Department is the Advertising class. We had to put together an entire advertising campaign for a client, and I remember our implementation plan with our detailed strategy was about 50 pages. At the end of the semester, we had to present the campaign to our class. It was definitely the project I’m most proud of during my time at Truman.
Why is Truman a good place for a student to study?
Truman has amazing professors that care about their students. Professors were always willing to meet with me outside of class when I needed additional support on a project, or had questions about the lecture.
Julianna (center) & friends feeling the magic in one of her COMM classes (2014).
I also liked that Truman is a very close-knit community. Most of my best friends I have today are the people I met at Truman.
Julianna (L) at Disney (2015).
What would you say a COMM student should absolutely do while at Truman?
I would highly recommend doing an internship, either during a semester, or during the summer while you are at Truman. It’s a great way to leave the campus bubble and gain some relevant work experience before your first full-time job.
I would also recommend joining at least one communication-related club or getting involved in the student media.
What advice would you give someone who wants to go into the same line of work as you?
I work for a nonprofit, and it’s really important to be passionate about the mission. The reality is that fundraising for a nonprofit is basically the same as doing sales for a corporation: both roles are about building relationships with people and bringing in more partners. However, the salaries for nonprofits and corporations are very different. If you want to work for a nonprofit, you truly have to believe in the mission and be willing to take a pay cut because you could be doing similar work somewhere else but for a much higher salary.
What do you miss most about campus/Kirksville?
I miss how close everything was in Kirksville. I was always only a five-minute drive from any of my friends. The city also has a cute downtown area with different places to eat and shop. Kirksville truly was a special gem that I was lucky enough to be able to call home.
Julianna (left) and friends (2014).
What tag line would you create for the COMM department at Truman?
“All jobs require excellent communication!”
If you could come back to Truman and teach a class for a semester, what would be its title and what would it be about?
Grant Writing – In order to be successful in the nonprofit world, you have to know how to be able to manage complex grants. I think this would be a useful class for anyone interested in fundraising or the nonprofit space.
What did we not ask that you think is important for people to know?
Truman offers a lot of different ways for students to get involved with the Communication major beyond just taking classes. It’s okay to try a lot of things. Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone, and try something new!
Julianna (front, center) and her MO Hall/Res Life friends (2014).
If you would like to learn more of Julianna’s story, you can follow her on LinkedIn.