Meet the Team: Julia Ellen

Hey y’all! My name is Julia Ellen, and I am excited to be the Business Advocacy intern at the Greenville Chamber of Commerce for the summer of 2022. I am originally from Wake Forest, NC but moved to South Carolina to attend college at Clemson University, Go Tigers! I am a rising Senior at Clemson where I am majoring in Psychology with a minor in Youth Development Studies. I am also completing coursework to earn a Public Health Certificate upon my graduation in May of 2023.

Outside of school, I am involved in several organizations on Clemson’s campus. I am a part of Clemson’s largest non-profit organization, Clemson Miracle, where I have held several leadership positions. So far while at Clemson I have raised $6,914.32 for Prisma Health Children’s Hospital – Upstate. This coming year, I am Clemson Miracle’s Partnership Co-Chair and will be working to gain corporate sponsors and partners to help support the organization in our fundraising efforts. I also have a passion for event planning and have held numerous positions in my sorority, helping me to feed this passion while planning events for our 300+ members.

So, you may be wondering where my interest in the Chamber and Business Advocacy comes from. Well, I have grown up in a legislative household where I watched my father spend time in the North Carolina House of Representatives and Senate advocating for retail businesses all over the State of North Carolina. Through this, I have gained interest while witnessing my father and his association help businesses of the State of North Carolina flourish.

Growing up, I always told my parents the one thing I wanted to do ‘when I grow up’ was help people. At that stage, I was not sure how I wanted to do this, and to be completely honest, I still am not 100% sure. I do know, however, that there is no better way to help individuals than to help local businesses have an environment where they can grow and develop. When these businesses are growing and flourishing it grants the individuals of Greenville, SC a great place to live.

During my time at Clemson, I have been able to watch Greenville grow and flourish into a city where businesses strive to plant their roots. I am excited to give back to a community that I have grown to love over the past few years. I am thankful for this opportunity, and am also looking forward to learning and growing myself while at the Greenville Chamber of Commerce.