Meet Julie Knack

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julie Knack. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julie below.

Hi Julie, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

A teacher by trade and degree, I have had to overcome (am still working on overcoming) imposter syndrome in my new role as Communications Coordinator for the largest adult education organization in the world, Coalition on Adult Basic Education. A large part of my work involves managing our social media accounts and interacting with legislators’ offices and that at first was intimidating. A lifelong learner at heart, I went onto Coursera to become certified in Social Media Marketing and Digital Marketing, but something still felt like it was missing. I would look at our excellent analytics on social and still not feel cheered up. I wanted more for my organization, and I feared that I wasn’t it. Success covering our largest national conference yet, running successful social media campaigns for our Advocacy April initiative and even getting to meet with legislators on Capitol Hill during Adult Education and Family Literacy Week did not cure me. Someone told me at an event that I was covering, “Oh wow, your family photos must be amazing!” And I couldn’t bring up the courage to tell them that I don’t have personal social media accounts, and I don’t particularly like being in photos, or taking photos for fun in my personal life. I really just like enjoying time with my children and being in the moment instead of having my phone out. I finally had a revelation, I was used to my role as a teacher occupying a large part of my identity as a mentor, and someone who cared deeply for my students, but this role as a Communications Coordinator didn’t have to take up space in my personal life, and that is okay! I don’t have to identify as a social media person to my inner core in order to do a really good job, and my inner identity doesn’t have to coincide with my outer role in order for me to fulfill and even exceed the expectations of my employer. I can love my work, and still not make it my entire sense of self, and this has really helped me take strides towards overcoming imposter syndrome. I’m not an imposter, it’s just that my job is not the entirety of who I am, and that’s okay.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I work for a non-profit that promotes adult education across the nation, and even across the world! I LOVE the mission of my organization, Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE), because it helps people find a way out of poverty and into family-sustaining jobs. The power of education is always invigorating to think about, but when you think about giving someone a second chance at an education when they were robbed of their first chance, it’s thrilling. As an English Language Teacher by trade, the ability for new immigrants to access English services when they come here is so important! As COABE’s Communications Coordinator I get to tell people about how vital access to adult education services is, and I also get to urge legislators to fund adult education programs more adequately. I think nationwide we as Americans have a faulty understanding of adult education. Most people don’t understand how essential it is for adults to have the chance to attend a program that will allow them to step into a career that not only pays the bills, but allows them to have time for enjoyment and creativity in their lives! Adult education does just that, and as Americans I know all of us want healthier communities and a stronger economy. Adult education is the way to get Americans back to work and have higher buying power! We have just launched our Educate and Elevate America Petition that we would love everyone to sign. It educates people on what adult education does for the nation, and asks them to sign to support and uphold the right for every American to be educated no matter their background or age. https://tinyurl.com/4w73fbxp

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I love to read, and I love reading opinions that I may not agree with. Reading a lot has helped me to be more informed and ready to start conversations with others and just listen instead of trying to prove a point. I think it’s really important to have an open mind to others around you and be ready to listen to their pain. Sometimes we agree on much more than we think we might, and when others around us feel listened to, they are much more ready to hear what we have to say. I didn’t always have this mentality. I was a know-it-all as a kid, and very afraid to admit that I didn’t know something. As I’ve gotten older, I pray I’ve become humbler and more ready to listen well before I speak, and admit when I am unaware of something so that I can learn! In my college years I used to pay the bills by teaching older adults water aerobics, and believe it or not, this really equipped me with a lot of the soft skills I needed for teaching, and even now today when I present to a crowd or even meet with a legislator. During the aerobics class I was able to project my voice, make eye contact, and feel comfortable telling others what to do, but after the class I would greet each person and take time to hear them out and check in on them. This was a great experience and helped me become a caring educator, and today, hopefully an impactful communications coordinator for COABE, the amazing non-profit I work for. If I had any advice to give it would be, don’t underestimate the impact your interactions with others make. Be kind and ready to listen, whether the person holds a position of high authority, or whether you think their position in life might be inconsequential. There is no such thing as an inconsequential human being, and when you take the time to respect and honor them, no matter their station, you do yourself and them great honor.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I am always looking for amazing adult learners out there who want to partner with us, and share our platform! We have an adult learner success story submission, where we intake stories and publish them to our Educate and Elevate website to showcase how adult education matters! But we also partner with adult learner celebrities, Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., winner of America’s Got Talent and recent GED earner, Oliver James, TikTok sensation who is still on his learning journey, Rebecca Contreras, author of Lost Girl: From the hood to the White House to Millionaire Entrepreneur, and many more. We want to work together with others who have gotten their GED, or who want to promote adult literacy, and adult digital literacy skills and who also have a platform that will help us promote the message that adult education is important, it needs to stay funded, and it changes lives! There are so many celebrities out there who have their GED and could make such a difference in helping change the perception of adult education across the nation.

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