Once a Duke undergraduate, McGill tells what inspired her to come back several years later.
Play hard, work hard, seems to be the theme of this woman's life. Julie McGill, Trinity '94 returned to Duke for the class of 2000 at Fuqua after a few years living the investment banking life.
"I look back favorably. It was the decision [to attend Duke for undergraduate] I never regretted. I found it balanced and people had good priorities...I learned a lot of useful things that I am using today," says McGill.
After graduating as an economics major, McGill entered investment banking and remained there for four years before she realized it was not the place for her. She came back to Duke for Fuqua where she was able to get out of the investment banking field and into consulting. She found online and partner marketing company Dun & Brad Street, which allows her to manage customer acquisition marketing for small businesses.
McGill says her years at Fuqua were just as rewarding as her undergraduate years. "[Fuqua] was the same, it was a good period of life. What I enjoyed was the quality of the students...The best part of my [current] job is the team that I work with. In a lot of senses the group that I work with now reminds me of business school." McGill says she always enjoys going back to Fuqua. Last week, she particularly enjoyed seeing the new student center.
Although McGill looks back fondly on her undergraduate and graduate years at Duke, she says there is a feeling of nostalgia when she walks on the undergraduate campus. "I liked the Duke that I went to. It was a lot of fun, and it was extremely challenging for me. It was very much a work hard, play hard mentality," McGill says.
A major change in the social scene from the days she attended Duke seems to include a stricter alcohol policy. "I would be answering it in terms of heresay. Prior to 1990 there were a lot of kegs on the main quad." McGill says there were fewer kegs on the quad when she was an undergraduate and she hears that there are even less now.
Compared to the declining presence of kegs on the quads, McGill is happy to still see benches adorning the campus. She recalls strong basketball feelings arising when there was a major uproar in response to Keohane's attempt to turn the tradition of burning benches into a bubble machine. McGill says, "It was obviously a complete flop."
As part of her play hard mentality, McGill says a good memory is attending Duke basketball games because "there's nothing like being able to cheer for a team like Duke." She remembers thinking that a person only gets one chance to be an undergraduate rooting for Duke and that it is best to take up this opportunity when you can.
Feelings about Duke basketball run deep for her and to this day, McGill still gets together with her close friends during basketball season--usually in New York. "I lived through a very good set of basketball years," she said.
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