Globetrotter - Julie Hagopian '11

Globetrotter

Julie Hagopian '11 (left) is well-traveled
and talented. She plays the sax
in the Notre Dame marching band.
A junior-year excursion to China left Julie Hagopian ’11 with more than a lingering craving for jaozi (steamed dumplings). It compelled her to make her studies at Saint Mary’s, and her future profession, more “China-centered.”

Julie went to China for three weeks last summer with the College’s China Summer Program. Along with other students, she toured Chinese landmarks including the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and Tiananmen Square. During the trip Julie was enrolled in Professor Alice Yang’s History of Chinese Women course, which, she says, satisfied a requirement for her history major, a requirement for her Chinese minor through the University of Notre Dame, and her own curiosity.

Julie has always been intrigued by other cultures. “I have fallen in love with the Asian cultures,” says the New Jersey native. She hopes to roll her experiences and her academic success—which includes a second minor in advertising—into a future with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). “The BBC is my goal because they work in many countries, three of which I speak the language for,” says Julie, counting her native English and her second language, Spanish, in addition to Chinese.

Though a globetrotter at heart, Julie has made herself at home in the Saint Mary’s/Notre Dame community. She belongs to several student clubs, works three part-time jobs, and is a proud member of the Band of the Fighting Irish. Playing the saxophone at football and hockey games has given Julie a real sense of the community of which she’s thankful to be a member.

She says that’s the best part of being a Saint Mary’s student. “I have all my Saint Mary’s friends, the friends I went to China with, my saxophone section family, my work family, the list goes on and on,” she says. “It’s the camaraderie that cannot be found on any other college campus that makes me love Saint Mary’s so much.”