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SIRIS Volunteer Profile – Julia Morrill

SIRIS Volunteer Profile: Julia Morrill Photo
Christina Clayton
SIRIS Volunteer Profile: Julia Morrill

Julia Morrill was born in Evanston, Ill. Her father was a college administrator at several Midwestern schools, so Morrill spent most of her childhood living in various cities throughout Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio. In 1964, her family moved to Carbondale after her father accepted a position at Southern Illinois University (SIU). Morrill attended SIU briefly, but finished her studies in Communications at the University of Colorado.

While living in Colorado, Morrill worked as the Director of Community and Public Relations at the Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs. This is where she really honed her communication skills. "I was able to do [write-ups for commercials], I was interviewing people on a classical station there, and doing informational programs for the art center…I really liked it," she says.

Morrill later moved to Delaware to be close to her mother who had become ill. She worked in Delaware for about ten years and helped open the Delaware City Fine Arts Center. "I organized a lot of artists and exhibitions there. We had [live performances] and workshops."

She retired last year and decided to move back to Southern Illinois. As a busy person, Morrill wanted to stay active and began looking for things to do. She recently stepped out of retirement, and works fulltime again at a law firm in Murphysboro, Ill.

Morrill has been volunteering as a Southern Illinois Radio Information Service (SIRIS) reader for a year-and-a-half now. She became involved with SIRIS after reading one of the Signal newsletters, and later realized that a close family friend, and former SIU professor, Tom Dickey, had used the services. "It made it more of a heartwarming experience to be involved with something he had used," she shares.

Her role at SIRIS is unique because she's one of the few volunteers who reads from home. "Vickie [Devenport] came out and she helped me get set up at home. Now I'm doing weekend readings of the Southern Illinoisan." She records about thirty minutes of readings on her computer and sends her recording to student worker Rob Kern for editing once she's done. She says it's a convenient way for those with busy schedules to help.

Morrill says her favorite part about volunteering with SIRIS is being able to read to individuals who really appreciate the service. "It makes me feel more inclined to do my best and to put forth a good reading," she says. "Just knowing you're doing a good service is the most rewarding part of it."

"As I meet the people involved, they're all wonderful individuals," she says of her fellow volunteers. " They all have such talent, and different skills and backgrounds, that it makes for a very interesting family of people…I can't wait for our next [event]."

Like several other SIRIS volunteers, Morrill is also involved with The Stage Company in Carbondale. She explains, "It's the attraction to being able to communicate with the public [that draws so many theater people to SIRIS]." Morrill says her involvement with theater during high school is what truly shaped her passion for communication. "It was very influential on the types of things that I'd enjoy doing going forward…it lays cornerstones on what kind of things you feel comfortable doing…[like being at] ease when talking to people, and being in the public eye. A lot of people don't get that experience and I think it's really valuable," she says. Morrill worked with the Stage Company in the 1980s, and now that she's back in the area, she's happy to be helping out again.

Her advice to those considering new volunteer or career opportunities is to follow what you think you like to do. "You'll meet the people on that path that can encourage you enough to do it and give you that support," she says. "Get into those areas that you really think you'd like to be a part of, and try it. That's the only way you're going to find out."

"I've been to a lot of different places, and I've enjoyed a lot of different things," says Morrill. "I think the more I've been able to experience, the richer of a person I've become."

WSIU Public Broadcasting is an NPR, PBS member-station located in Carbondale, IL at Southern Illinois University. Contact WSIU Radio at 618-453-6101 or email us at wsiuradio@wsiu.org.
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