Welcome DC Service Corps Member Julie!

Sometimes, following God’s call redirects us off our current path and takes us down a much different one. For Julie Bauerle, moving to Washington, DC to join the inaugural class of DC Service Corps wasn’t the traditional next step.

After attending Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law and passing the Bar Examination, Julie realized that her heart was not set on practicing traditional law. Instead, she felt passionate about using her knowledge and skill set to immerse herself in a community environment and dedicate herself to affecting change in people’s lives.

Originally from Walton, Kentucky, Julie attended Thomas Moore College where she double majored in political science and history. After law school, the job search also included some serious soul searching. Julie knew she didn’t want to transition directly into practicing law, but she wasn’t quite sure what was next.

While job searching, Julie stumbled across Franciscan Mission Service and was intrigued by the person-first nature of the program and its focus on intentional community. As part of the Nonprofit Servant Leadership Program, Julie will be able to incorporate her leadership skills and align them with faith development.

For Julie’s service site, she will be working with Catholic Charities at their Refugee Center in Washington, DC. Catholic Charities is an organization with agencies and programs throughout the United States that seeks to help those in need through a variety of outreach programs and involvement in the community.

Julie is no stranger to Catholic Charities. Her mother works at the Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky, where Julie volunteered for 15 years. During her years of volunteering with her mother, Julie shared that she learned about being Catholic through helping and serving as much as she has through formal classes and theory. For her, volunteering with Catholic Charities was like attending a hands on religious education class.

In 2012, Julie interned at the Catholic Charities USA office in Alexandria, Virginia. Julie identifies with Catholic Charities’ mission and dedication to serving those most in need. Catholic Charities, like Julie herself, has a strong focus on social justice. The position at the Refugee Center strongly resonates with Julie and she feels that the work they do is so important, especially in this age. She is excited to be part of this ministry and use her talents to work directly in this community.

In her free time, Julie enjoys watching any and all forms of sports and reading. She is also a self-described news junkie and enjoys reading about the same news story from many sources in order to accumulate multiple points of view and form her own opinion from there.

Welcome, Julie!

Favorite Saint: “I’ve been really impacted by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and chose her as my confirmation saint. She set the foundation of the US Catholic Church in a lot of ways. I like that she’s not a huge academic. She was approachable and could talk to anybody. Despite the hardships it placed on her life, she converted to Catholicism and continued to follow her faith and seek out the will of God.”

Fun Fact: “In 2012 when I interned for Catholic Charities USA, I was able to attend one of President Obama’s speeches from inside the East Room of the White House. My dad told me he saw me in the crowd during the television broadcast of the speech on CNN.”