By Steve Sears

When Julia Bachman entered her first semester at Randolph’s County College of Morris, she was not eager to get involved.

Bachman said, “I definitely held on to that very negative stereotype around community college that it felt like an only option for me. And then I got here, and I spent the time going to class and going home. I thought, ‘This is what my life is going to be like for two years.’”

Fast forward from the fall of 2022 to the spring of 2024, “By the time I graduated,” Bachman said, “it was the opposite of that. I made friends, I connected with people, and I had a whole community of people behind me. It was amazing.”

Bachman, who grew up in Cedar Knolls, attended Memorial Junior School in Whippany, and then attended both the Morris County School of Technology in Denville and Morris Knolls High School in Rockaway prior to CCM. While a student at the college, she was involved in many things in addition to her studies. She interned with the school’s Marketing & Publications department, worked as the marketing liaison for the Student Government Association, served as Vice-President of the Performing Arts Club, and was a Peer Mentor with College Steps. She graduated with an Associate’s Degree in Communcation & Media Studies (2023) and an Associate of Arts Degree in Musical Theater (2024), and is currently an Advertising & Branding student at Savannah College of Art & Design in Georgia.

And Bachman, who this summer was onsite at her old stomping grounds working in the Marketing & Public Relations department, said the benefit of CCM is that it offers a variety of options for each individual. 

“I had friends who graduated and they worked immediately, some who went into the Center for Workforce Development Program so they could do just that,” Bachman said. “I also had friends who majored in Business and were able to graduate and go out to work, and also those who were a little bit older and had jobs but were looking to get a new skill. I also knew people who went to four-year schools and didn’t love it, and they came here to find out what they wanted to do. I think that diversity of my experience and everyone else’s experiences kind of shows that, when you come here, you can find the time to discover yourself and what you want to do.”

As for her future goals, Bachman said her biggest goal is to graduate from the Savannah College of Art & Design and then head to New York City and work in a strategic role for an agency.

“I’ve always loved the city,” she said, “and I think that going there will give me so many other learning opportunities. I have had internships and I love experiential marketing, brand events, and creating experiences. I’m very passionate about storytelling in that way, but I am also very interested in how AI (Artificial Intelligence) is being used in the marketing world.” 

Bachman is also interested in possibly going to law school to study copyright law.