Julie Collins

Thank you for asking! And for anyone curious about my journey, I’m happy to share. I got my first job at Boston Market on Fry Rd when I was 15. It’s a McDonald’s now, which is a shame, because I miss the sandwiches. My second job was at Schlotzky’s on Mason Rd (old location) From age 17-19 I worked at Cracker Barrel at I-10 and Barker Cypress. From age 19-22 I was a bartender. I also got married and had two kids. At 23, I was divorced with 2 small children and at a cross roads. I woke up one day and decided that wasn’t the life I wanted for myself or my children. So I moved home with my mom and I enrolled in a Radiology Technology program. My schedule for the next 2 years was: School M-F 7:00a-3:00p. Come home, spend time with my kids. Put them to bed and then go to my bartending job from 8:00p-2:00a - back at school at 7:00a the next morning. I graduated and my first job out of x-ray school was as an x-ray tech in a hospital working what they call a compressed weekend. I worked both Saturday and Sunday from 7:00a-11:00p for a total of 32 hours. Only, at $16.09 an hour, that wasn’t enough to support my family. So I got an advanced certificate in Mammography and worked at a mammography clinic during the week. I did that for 4 years. 72 hours a week for 4 years. Then I was fortunate enough to be promoted into an Imaging Manager position. Not yet ready to slow down, I worked in that position as my day job, while also working at a free-standing ED as a CT/x-ray tech for a 12 hour shift each weekend. Oh, and while doing all this, I was also chipping away at my Bachelor’s degree. It wasn’t until 2020 when I graduated from college that, for the first time in 25 years, I had only one job and wasn’t either working a second job or also attending school. After a break of a few years, I am now working full time and running for office in every second of my spare time. So, Jay G (if that is your real name), which part of that life experience would make me unqualified to understand the unique challenges that we are facing in this world? Happy Sunday, everyone!