Background
My name is Julia Sewell, and I am a 21-year-old from Minneapolis. I am currently a Senior at Augsburg College in Minnesota, where I study psychology and theater. I'm involved in as many activities and programs as I can be. I am an actress, a model, a motivational speaker, and a published poet. I started my work in service when I was 10 years old. I began volunteering at soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and with community organizations. My passion for service and to be apart of change continued to grow. I then attended the National Youth Leadership Training and became involved with the National Youth Leadership Council(NYLC). From here on out, I became apart of there entity and started presenting at various conference, the first of which was the Ryan White Conference for HIV/AIDS.
I was on the Youth Performance Companies youth artists board(2006-2007) and Vice President of Umoja Academy, an organization that a friend and I began. Through this organization, we target and provide programming for at risk youth in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On campus, I am currently the Director of Education for People of Pluralism, a promotional member of Soul Food, and a regular participant with Chicago Cares. I was also a member of State Farm's Youth Advisory Board 2007-2008 where I helped to give out $5 million worth of monies to service-learning projects across the country. I was recently selected to serve on the America’s Promise Alliance Youth Partnership Team. I recently became a Bonner Scholar at my college. I also am a McNair Scholar. Through this program, I am currently doing research on definitions of success and how these differ among black and white young men.
Leadership has always been in my heart. At age 14, I was selected to be apart of the inaugural group in the Youth Leaders International Program. This program gathered the top leaders from all across the globe(Russia, Africa, Australia, etc) and brought them together to create strategies for leadership within the local and National context. I was apart of this program for 3 years and traveled to France and Great Britain on the programs behalf. I was also selected to attend the Inaugural Clinton Global Initiative in New Orleans, LA where Bill Clinton spoke and gave advice about global leadership and how we as youth can work to be apart of this initiative. As a result, I am now a campus representative for the organization. This year, I also started a group called C.H.A.N.G.E.(Cultivating Hope and Navigating Growth through Excellence). The main goal of this group is to continually identify problems within our community and effectively work to change and correct them. On of the recent initiatives that I led was partnering with a local homeless shelter and raising resources (clothes, hats, gloves, shoes) for the shelter.
Performing has always been in my blood. I began acting at age 5 and haven't stopped since! I began to combine my love for the stage with my passion for change. I became involved in plays whose messages were educational and was apart of tours and educational films that were produces. I perform at conferences, events, programs, and ceremonies. I recently performed at the 2008 National Service Learning Conference. I am also working with the National Youth Leadership Council on strengthening youth initiatives and awareness on HIV/AIDS. I recently presented on youth voice and HIV/AIDS awareness at the Urban Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Main Topics
I speak on a wide range of topics including: poverty, racism, diversity, achievement gap, education, using the arts in service, domestic violence, teen driver safety, and youth voice. I also give trainings and have curriculums for these topics. I have spoken, performed, and trained at over 50 conferences and events.
Offerings
In my work, I have guided young people to begin writing and also sparked them to produce projects and to get involved in their communities.
I helped to implement a writing and spoken word program at Augsburg College, at DePaul University, and at about 20 high schools around the country.
Publications and Awards
2003-2006- Youth Leaders International Leadership Award
2006- Mark Clark leadership Award
Availability- Flexible
Fee
My fee is negotiable. However, it must cover travel (airfare and lodging). For a performance of a tailor made spoken word, fees start at $300. For speaking engagements, fees typically start at $500.
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