Our Alumni Spotlight series will be an ongoing feature, highlighting former student-athletes and catching up on where their journeys have taken them after graduation. Julia Peters, former Georgia Equestrian student-athlete, graduated in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations.
Can you tell us about your current career and what you are doing now?
I am an employment marketing leader at the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer. In my role, I lead a team to create innovative talent marketing strategies to help attract and engage jobseekers to apply and build long-term careers.
How did your experience as a student-athlete prepare you for your professional career?
UGA athletics prepared me for my professional career in so many ways. First, it instilled essential skills in me like time management, teamwork, and discipline. Armed with these skills and a drive for results, I was able to quickly grow into a leadership position where the ability to effectively collaborate, communicate, and face challenges head-on set me up for success. I attribute who I am today as a leader to what I learned as a UGA Equestrian.
What was the most important lesson you learned from balancing academics, athletics, and personal life during college?
Time doesn’t stop because you’re busy. Athletics requires you to find balance quickly as a freshman to get into the groove that works for you to operate successfully throughout college and beyond. Being able to effectively multitask before starting my career is one of the main reasons I have a great work life balance today, too.
What’s one thing you wish you had known about life after sports before you graduated?
Networks are important. Who you meet now in college could be a future colleague, or they could get a job at your dream company and be a future referral. Build and nourish your network now while in college and stay in touch with the people who inspire you. It’s worth the time!
Looking back, what advice would you give to current student-athletes who are trying to navigate life after college and sport?
We all know that it’s not easy to juggle an internship to stay competitive with others in your desired field when you’re a student-athlete. But what you can do is take advantage of the amazing leadership opportunities you can find within UGA Athletics that will translate well into a future career. Join the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), ask your coach to lead a community service giveback for the team, and actively participate in leadership opportunities presented to you. When I was at UGA, I knew I wanted to pursue public relations after college so I asked my coaches if I could create and manage the equestrian team’s first-ever social media accounts. From SAAC to volunteering and getting entrepreneurial with social media, I was set up for success with great interview topics.
When you think about your time as a Bulldog, what is one moment that stands out the most?
The impact that you can make as a student-athlete. Some of my favorite memories come from the hours spent volunteering in the Athens community with teammates. It’s so important to carve out the time to give back, but it’s not always easy with a 40-hour work week. Discover ways you love to give back now in college and continue to volunteer afterwards – it’s so rewarding.
