Interview with Julie Clayton

Julie is a 5th year senior and pole vaulter at Marquette University studying Finance. Julie is originally from Waukesha, WI and had been pole vaulting since her freshman year of high school. Pole vaulting was introduced to her because the coach at her high school was her friend’s Dad; he thought that she would be a great candidate for this sport. Julie was originally not part of the Marquette Track and Field roster until her Junior year when she won the Big East Indoor event which was a huge turning point in her career and the moment she solidified her spot as a official member of the team. Julie chose Marquette because she enjoyed the over all atmosphere, service aspect, and the D1 sports opportunities. She enjoys hanging with friends, watching Netflix, and is passionate about politics. Julie has had many achievements not only in Track but also in her academic life. During the summer of 2017, she was fortunate enough to intern through the LesAspen program in Washington D.C and has secured a finance job in Chicago for the fall of 2020. Julie enjoys her finance major because she was always naturally good at accounting and math and believes it is important that people are financially literate. The road to success and balancing life was not always easy and there were many times she felt overwhelmed. Being part of the track team has helped her become an overall better student because if “academic life is succeeding, athletic life will succeed as well.” Track is a year round sport that has challenged her time management and made her able to achieve school records, work as a facilities manager at Mashuda, and so much more. She is finishing out her last season on the Track team and will remember the small little experiences and memories she has made the past 5 years with her fellow teammates. Julie is grateful and humble for her opportunities despite feeling like she didn’t belong on the team. She gives the advice that, “I did not think I would achieve that(making the team) myself, but I had all the help along the way and now I know I can do anything I want in the future as long as I seek out helpers on the way.”