In 2006 Julia Pritchard went to Wisconsin to compete in the American Birkebeiner, the largest cross country skiing race in North America. Julia competed in the classic marathon, which is 34 miles long. She finished 3rd in her age group.
Julia remembers watching her fellow competitors cross the finish line for hours after she had finished. She noticed how the top skiers were using wider, slower skis.
She remembers… “the fast skiers wearing lycra and traveling on well- prepped skis are impressive for their speed and efficiency, while the slower skiers were wearing jeans and sweatshirts.”
“The people I watched finishing hours later were more impressive for their hardiness and perseverance.”
Today Julia Pritchard is the new U-32 Special Education Coordinator. Julia is someone who always roots for the underdog.
This became evident when she took a camp counseling job the summer before her senior year in college, in Hershey, Michigan. The camp, Eagle Village, was for kids who had experienced traumatic events. Every two weeks new kids came to camp for hiking and camping. This experience changed her life forever.
Julia went on to graduate from Northern Michigan University with a degree in sports information/broadcasting, but she soon followed her passion, earning her masters degree in social work with a focus in special education.
Ever since Julia moved to Vermont she has been looking for a job at U-32. She heard about the excellent reputation that U-32 has for their athletics, academics and how nice the campus is.
She lives in Montpelier with her husband Hugh, who competed as a bi-athlete in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Julia loves to spend time with her two daughters, traveling. Julia can often be found cross country skiing, biking, or kayaking. Julia is living her dream, helping people who have big challenges become as successful in life as they can. 
