It’s amazing that Julia Nelson is even alive. That she just graduated from the University of San Francisco (USF) is even more incredible. And that she received the Dean’s Medal for academic excellence is pretty much a miracle.
Nelson grew up in Santa Barbara in a grittier section of town than what’s normally shown in travel brochures. Her mom was a single parent in nursing school who supported the two of them with wages and tips from waitressing, and she was a caring, consistent presence despite all the time she had to devote to work and school.
But from an early age, Nelson never felt comfortable in her own skin, never felt like she fit in. She couldn’t pinpoint why, and she couldn’t shake the feeling. “I remember wondering in 2nd grade if all the other kids hated themselves as much as I did,” Nelson said. By age 11, she was suicidal.