What’s on Julia’s mind these days?

I've decided to move this newsletter to a monthly cadence. Honestly, we just don’t have enough updates every two weeks—and I’d rather share something thoughtful than rush to fill space. That said, I’ll admit I missed a few months… so maybe it’s been more like “when I remember I should send something.” 😅

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about journeys—both the kind you take with a suitcase and the kind you take internally.

Externally, I just returned from Oxford, England, where I took a course at Oxford University. (Fun fact: Oxford isn’t just one campus—it’s made up of 39 individual colleges!) The city is charming and wonderfully walkable, with cobblestone streets and centuries-old buildings that make you feel like you've stepped back in time. One of the colleges I visited was celebrating its 400-year anniversary. For context, the United States didn’t even exist yet. Unreal.

Internal journeys are trickier to navigate. There’s no airport arrival gate or graduation ceremony to mark your progress. Sometimes we try to define them with goals or milestones. But emotional or mental growth doesn’t always offer clear before-and-after snapshots. It’s often quiet, subtle, and hard to measure.

Job searching is one of those internal journeys that feels like it should be straightforward—job or no job. But if we reframe it, the process becomes less binary. Maybe you're searching not just for a job, but for meaning, security, creativity—or a way to align your values with your daily life. And here's a thought: your job doesn’t have to be your passion. I know, I know—“But if I love my job, it won’t feel like work!” Maybe. But most corporate roles involve tasks, meetings, and politics. Are you passionate about those? Probably not. (No one is.)

So what if the job is simply a vehicle—to fund your life, your ideas, and your interests? What if you could find fulfillment outside the job title and weave your passions into the rest of your day?

With that in mind, here’s what’s been happening in our little corner of the world.

#1: 2025 Cohort Apprentice Program Specific News

• Jenny, Linh, and Julia finished CaribbeanPot.com in July! Huge win as this project was a big endeavor.
• While their project ended early, Jerry, Ashley, Christine, and Akari were able to gather enough materials for a case study and add a real world project to their portfolio. 

#2: Apprentice Wins and Celebrations 

• Christine, in Cohort 2025, got a job! She is a CX Researcher at Informa Markets.
• Melody has been doing a lot of interviews. Let’s keep her momentum going and help her get that final offer!
• Jerry has been working hard on his portfolio and it is looking really polished.  

Share: Have any good news, life lessons, or need project help? Reply and let me know. I can share it in our next update.

#3: Job Opportunities

We’re always on the lookout for relevant entry-level roles to share with our apprentices. They’re usually shared on Discord under Discussion > #jobsearch-opps. If you come across any, let us know! We'll be sure to share them here for everyone else.

(short list of opportunities)

• Content Marketing Manager (volunteer for 6-8 months, a couple of hours a week) for IAC (remote) - contact Caroline Craner to indicate interest. This role is a mix of visual design and copywriting. You will need strong organizational skills. 
• UX Designer (contract) for PebbleDB (Alpharetta, Georgia)
• UX Designer for Q2 (various locations, US)
• Product Designer for Lingraphica (remote, US)
• User Experience Research Operations Associate for Gardner Resources Consulting, LLC (remote, MA)

#4: Project Announcements

Check out these volunteering resources and find your next gig! We’ll highlight a few organizations in every newsletter where you can look through and find something that interests you.

• Taproot Foundation - https://taprootfoundation.org/volunteers/
• Forgood - https://www.forgood.org/
• Catchafire - https://www.catchafire.org/

Feedback wanted

Open rates are great, click through rates are alright. But how helpful is this newsletter really? Share with us why yet another newsletter was a good idea.

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As always, we’re around to chat. DM us on Discord, reply to this email/post or schedule some time on our calendars: 

• Chat with Grace
• Chat with Julia 

That's all for now!