Julia Braun

I have worked at UB for just a little more than eight years. I began my career at UB in 2012 as the assistant director of academic services for the MS Finance and graduate offshore programs. In 2017, I transitioned into my current role and now serve as the associate director of student services for the full-time MBA program.  

I enjoy that my job is incredibly dynamic! My responsibilities include advising, programming, and community engagement. I enjoy the opportunity to provide support in many layers throughout one’s higher education journey.  

Navigating the higher education terrain can be incredibly difficult! As a first-generation student, I know this all too well. I am most proud of the situations where I have been able to help a struggling student overcome a barrier to success. The ability to introduce someone to an opportunity that may positively influence his or her trajectory is what I consider my biggest achievement at UB.  

Professional staff, as graduate student advisors, celebrates a long-standing presence of providing support in our department. Our services have been in place for nearly 16 years!  

One of my favorite quotes is “Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them” - Ann Landers. With that, I would encourage other professional staff to consider participating in at least one opportunity that you might have previously overlooked. Some of my most valuable experiences and friendships have resulted from opportunities - which I almost did not do.   

 I really love to be outdoors! In my free time, I like to go for long walks or bike rides in my community.  

I really enjoy preparing my grandmother’s recipe for seafood salad. She made this every year for the Christmas holiday and I am happy to carry on this tradition in our family.  

I recently finished watching The Crown on Netflix and have become interested in learning more about all of the British territories that were mentioned in the series.