As a student, Julia Eger (A&S ’19) blossomed into an expert on and advocate for homeless children. She filled every summer with internships and research projects, and sought volunteer opportunities throughout the school year. And she did all of this while earning a double major—political science and economics—and graduating with honors in just three and a half years. Among her extracurricular activities was tutoring middle school students at Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Barack Obama Academy.
“It was so inspiring to work with kids who in middle school were asking me all kinds of questions about college life,” Julia said. “It was nice to be able to help them imagine their future and set goals.”
Many of those students came from families in which no one had attended college.
Perhaps the most formative internship was her time with Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Kim Eaton. Judge Eaton had just been appointed Administrative Judge of the Family Court and was encountering entities and legal issues she had not dealt with previously. To prepare Judge Eaton for a round of meetings with nearly every child advocacy group in the county, Julia researched the operations of each one and prepared reports so the judge would be familiar with the agencies before entering the get-to-know-you session.
“When that was done she asked me to research what might cause a false positive drug and alcohol test,” Julia said. “Parents were coming into Family Court saying the test they failed was a false positive and the judge wanted to know what might actually cause such a result.”
Both the judge and the student were getting an education.
Julia says the Mary Stanko Clifford scholarship she received every semester while at Pitt fueled all of her experiences outside the classroom.
Having help with my tuition enabled me to more comfortably pursue opportunities that involved financial sacrifices.
– Julia Eger (A&S ’19)
“As someone who is considering a public service career, I took a lot of unpaid internships. So having that extra help with my tuition enabled me to more comfortably pursue opportunities that involved financial sacrifices,” she said. “It also meant a lot to me that Pitt believed in me enough from the very start of my college career to give me this award.”
As part of her Honors College experience, Julia completed a research fellowship exploring how teachers, nonprofits, and parents can help homeless children stay on grade level. She reviewed hundreds of studies, interviewed a diverse group of stakeholders, and offered a series of policy and practice recommendations based on her research, some of which were put into practice by the Homeless Children’s Education Fund.
“I was most impressed by her persistence as well as her belief that all children have a right to access public education,” said Mary Beth Rauktis, PhD, who served as Julia’s research advisor. “While it would have been easier to focus on another area of education law, she pursued the group of youth most at risk of being lost within the educational system, even though it was harder to gather firsthand interviews.”
Julia says people living in communities that are more affluent need a better understanding of less privileged communities.
“People tend to forget about how fortunate they are or what others might be experiencing,” Julia said. “But the situations of many people in the country definitely need to be more understood, and people need to be more aware so they can help as they are able.”
After graduating from Pitt in December, Julia joined AmeriCorps and worked primarily with second graders, helping them stay on track, and leading small-group tutoring sessions. She began engaging virtually when the schools were shuttered because of the COVID-19 outbreak. In the fall, Julia plans to attend the University of Virginia School of Law.
She hopes to put her law degree to use in the public sector helping disadvantaged children. And sometime down the road, she plans to make a gift to Pitt.
“I would like to give back in the future to honor all the opportunities I had and to help other students realize their goals,” Julia said.