She is the face behind your phone calls and the warm smile waiting to greet you as you enter the school grounds.
Moving from Melbourne to Shepparton about 30 years ago, it didn’t take her long to find a home in the office at Shepparton East.
“The sense of community here is unmatched,” she says of the only school office she has ever worked in.
In a career built entirely from office roles, nothing has ever compared to the rhythm of the small school.
And for that time, Julie has donned almost every hat that the role requires, from HR and finances to administration and sick bay duties.
Where the office once ran on paper files and manual processes, Julie has watched it change to a more steadily automated system over the years.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes in technology,” she said.
Despite that shift, the role of the office manager has kept her as the steady heartbeat behind the school’s front desk.
The first point of contact for frazzled new parents, the calm presence during a trip to sick bay and the organisational glue that holds together daily operations.
But, if you were to ask her what’s kept her around for more than 8000 days, her answer sure wouldn’t be the paperwork.
“My favourite thing is watching the students come in as shy little Preps and then leaving as much bigger Year 6 students,” she said.
“The confidence they gain is just my favourite thing.”
It’s a sentiment echoed in what she loves most about the only school she’s known, not a single moment, but the people.
“The staff connections, we’ve always been very close and look out for each other and everyone is willing to help each other out,” she said.
After 22 years, hundreds of shy Preps turned confident graduates and countless staff she’s supported along the way, Julie isn’t just part of the Shepparton East story.
To this community, she is “our Julie”.
By Brynne Timewell
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