While in her Master’s program, Julie decided that the research path was no longer her focus and chose to pursue a career path that would allow her to use her technical skills in a non-laboratory setting. Her first job out of graduate school was as a Department of Defense contractor supporting Chemical Science & Technology Managers at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency in the development of medical chemical pretreatments and therapeutics for the warfighter against chemical warfare agents.

However, it was not until she joined the US Patent & Trademark Office as a Patent Examiner that law school even became a consideration because of her continual application of evolving patent laws while writing rejections of patent applications and her constant exposure to case law in responding to arguments from Patent Attorneys. Due to family, work, and school obligations, her time in participating in law school activities is limited, and AULR has given her the opportunity to meet and form relationships with both full-time and part-time law students who have assisted her in writing her Comment, navigating the OCI process, and managing the normal anxieties of being a law school student. 

Julie will continue to pursue her interests in the intellectual property world upon graduation in 2019. She also hopes to explore ways where she can be involved in either neutralizing or eradicating social injustices, particularly in the criminal justice arena. Julie will be a Research Assistant in the fall under Professor Angela Davis, an expert in criminal law and procedure with a specific focus on prosecutorial power and racism in the criminal justice system.