Hi there! My name is Julie-Anna Homeyer. I’m an English Writing and Publication major (with a Business minor) at UNG, and just starting as an intern here at the University Press of North Georgia. My plan is to focus mainly on editing and proofreading over the next few months.
I was born in Durham, N.C., but spent my formative years in Kelowna, British Columbia. My siblings and I grew up playing in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains and on the shores of the Okanagan Lake. By the time I was ten, my family had moved to Athens, Ga., where I discovered my love for literature.
My middle school hosted annual reading contests with absolutely amazing prizes (glittery lava lamp? Um, yes!), which motivated me to read as many books as I could get my hands on. Once I was in high school and no longer motivated by lava lamps, I realized just how much I loved reading simply for the sake of reading.
Unfortunately, also while in high school, I contracted mono and my immune system never really recovered. Eventually, I withdrew from public school, finishing my high school education through an independent study program. While recovering (which I’ve since discovered is going to be a lifelong process), I became friends with my favorite authors, and, though I was stuck in an irritatingly isolated convalescent, I was able to travel to different worlds through my books. I journeyed with J.R.R. Tolkien through Middle Earth; discovered my favorite genre, supernatural mystery, thanks to Jim Butcher; and toured Elizabethan England with the delightfully sarcastic Jane Austen. (I’m a huge Austenophile. One of my dogs is even named Bingley!)
Later, once I started college, I discovered how much I love editing. I love being able to take something good and help make it better. I worked as a peer writing tutor at GSC for one year, and spent several years independently tutoring and editing. (I edited a mathematics dissertation for a few months, which was equally awesome and awful. Math is definitely not my friend.)
Now, as a junior in college, I’m most often found loving on my dogs, reading, or baking cheesecakes, and I’m excited to add editing to that list! I’m so happy to have the opportunity to learn with the University Press of North Georgia this semester!