We were lucky to catch up with Julianne Vallera recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Julianne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I graduated from Cathedral Catholic High School in 2011. I went to Point Loma Nazarene University that fall. I made a deal with my parents that I wouldn’t get a degree in anything related to the arts or show business. I took a handful of electives, one of which was an art class in the summer of 2012–and the art from that class contributed to the display I made for Lights! Camera! Autism! in 2018.

After struggling to get a B average for the classes within the business major, I switched to writing. I was able to make friends with the people in the writing department and had my work published in the school newspaper, magazine and yearbook.

The very first article I published was in 2013 called “Greek Life at PLNU?”. The inspiration for writing the piece was me reflecting on how a lack of Greek Life didn’t eliminate catty behavior and hazing. A lot of the people on campus who pushed for Greek Life did so because they didn’t feel a strong emotional connection with those in their same hall.

I graduated with a B.A. in writing in December of 2015.
In terms of opinion pieces and non-fiction, I had writers block in between university graduation and 2018. I just couldn’t find any current and relevant issues that I thought were worth adding my two cents to and I didn’t feel comfortable writing about polarizing issues. Since my writer’s block ended, I have written opinion pieces for The Mighty. The first opinion piece was, “Casting Disabled Actors Is About More Than Just Inclusion”. That opinion piece is actually what caught the attention of some of the people in the film community that I am still in communication with.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I knew that volunteer work with big companies is more than just bake sales and one-time events.
About half of those companies who rely on volunteers have opportunities that last numerous weeks and have work that can sometimes be as rigorous or as equivalent to entry level jobs and internships.
There are numerous opportunities at different places within Balboa Park.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jmvallera.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliannevallera/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianne-vallera-59b64a35
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JulianneVallera
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11171679/ https://themighty.com/u/jmvallera/

Image Credits
Time Ends Dennis Way