2011 Maryland Scholarship Recipient – Julia McGinn
Julia is planning to go to James Madison University and study vocal performance. She has been active in every Severna Park High School performance throughout her time there. We wish her all the best and look forward to future updates on her progress. Congratulations Julia!
Update November 2017:
Hi Mr. & Mrs. Herzberg!
I cannot believe it’s been 5 years since my last update. Many big things have happened.
For one, I graduated with a B.S. in Psychology from James Madison University in 2015! In my last update, I had just switched from Vocal Performance to Hospitality Management, but then I switched one last time to Psychology. Hospitality was great, but Psychology just…. felt right. I had always loved the subject, but avoided it out of cynicism for the job market after graduating. After I “went with my gut” and ran with it, I knew it was the best decision I could have made in undergrad. I am, however, glad that I gave my previous majors the college try (ha); it taught me that ruling-out is just as powerful as ruling-in. (Also, I am still singing! I am part of the Annapolis Chorale and do several concerts a year with them).
After graduation, I landed my first full-time job with the Office of International Services at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, where I have worked for the past 2 years! My team is wonderful and very supportive, especially with my newest endeavor which is Graduate School! I am currently in my very first semester of grad school at Penn State! I am pursuing an M.Ed. in Higher Education in an entirely online degree program, with hopes to finish in 2020. It has been going swimmingly, and I am incredibly excited to move up in the career ladder, particularly in Student Affairs and Administration. My ideal is to change educational methods and programs to better fit the next generations of students, such as offering more degree programs online like mine. I might not have applied for grad school had I not found this incredible program!
Here is an updated photo of me in my office located on the JHU Medical Campus, with my favorite JMU mug (that I use every single day) and donning my newest Penn State shirt (it’s causal Friday). I hope you all are doing well! I still cannot thank you enough for everything!
Best, Julia
Hi Julia – what a nice treat to hear how you are doing! I can’t believe it’s been five years either….it seems like time is going faster. So glad you found a field of work and study you are passionate about, and that you still have kept singing. Please let us know your schedule for the Chorale and we’ll see if we can make one of the shows. Also, if you are ever out in the Manassas area, I’m in a band myself although no singing allowed for me (that would be painful).
We are called Village Collective – you can find us on Facebook. It sounds like you are doing great! Best of luck in your graduate studies – we’d love to hear how it goes for you.
Many blessings
Eric and Wendi Herzberg
Update July 2013:
Hello Mr. and Mrs. Herzberg! It’s Julia McGinn! I’ve been up to quite a lot this summer and this past school year. My parents and I recently came home from our vacation in Italy, where we hopped from city to city for two weeks. I’ve been doing an online course (which is going very well!) since June in preparation for my new Psychology major at JMU, and I’m hoping to pick up a minor in Statistics as well. After changing majors twice, I think I have finally found the perfect fit for what I would like to do in life 🙂 I’m thinking of going into psych research or testing for schools. I will be living off campus next year with randomly assigned roommates and an apartment of our own. I could not be more excited to start this semester! Have an excellent summer and I’ll let your know how everything goes!
Sincerely, Julia McGinn
Update July 2012:
Hi Mr. & Mrs. Herzberg!
I was just thinking of you guys a few days ago and how I should update you on college soon! We’re on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard right now, but I wanted to respond get back to you so you didn’t think I fell off the face of the earth! My first year at JMU was great! I got lucky with my housing assignment: A single in the best dorm hall on campus (and the East coast. It’s newly renovated), so I’ve been spoiled with the great living space and living by myself. This upcoming semester, however, I’ll have a roommate and live in a suite, which is three doubles that connect to a center living space. I’m actually really excited to go back! My roommate and I only met once, but she seems wonderful and I think we’ll get along great.
My major went very well this year, but at the end of second semester I decided to switch to Hospitality Management. While I liked Vocal Performance as a major, it became too much and I wasn’t confident with the job market opportunities. I ended up taking 7-8 classes a semester to fit in all the credits. But I’m still active in the music community at school with the JMU Treble Chamber Choir and voice lessons. I’m really excited to start the Hospitality major though. The classes sound interesting and I’ve already covered a few credits at the community college in Maryland this summer. I still have a bit to catch up on, but I’m all set with classes for next semester at least! Frankly the only thing I’m not excited about going back to school for is my job busing tables in the campus food court. It’s not quite the glamorous part-time job I had hoped for, but it’s nice to have some experience in the food business while I can get it.
This summer I’ve been working at the Registrar’s Office at Anne Arundel Community College and I’m learning a lot (especially about “customer service”)! I can’t believe the summer is almost over and I’m heading back so soon! I wanted to thank you again for the scholarship opportunity and I’m proud to be one of your few recipients of it!
Thanks for everything!
Sincerely, Julia
