Meet Julia Gralki | Writer, Service Designer & Student-Athlete

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julia Gralki and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julia, can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Hi, I’m Julia, and I’m a writer, service designer, and athlete. Growing up in Germany, I used to spend my free time writing short stories and immersing myself in imaginative worlds. Later, my passion for writing led me to pursue a writing degree at SCAD, where I discovered the power of creative nonfiction and fell in love with bringing other people’s stories to paper.

Some of my first projects included writing stories of athletes who struggled with REDs, a condition that causes various injuries due to low energy availability caused by undereating. I have my own history with REDs, and it affected me for a majority of my time as a student-athlete at SCAD, because I was often sidelined with injuries like stress fractures. Writing about REDs and shining a light on other athletes’ stories helped me understand my own position.

In my junior year, I took the opportunity to write profiles about SCADpro students who landed exciting jobs or internships after a successful brand collaboration. I was also lucky enough to participate in three SCADpro collaborations, where I learned about design thinking and user experience research. Thanks to these experiences, I’m now studying service design as a graduate student at SCAD.

How has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
As a two-sport collegiate athlete, work-life balance isn’t always easy to maintain. Once I set my eyes on a goal, I’m a hundred percent committed. This has proven to be a blessing and a curse at the same time because I often find myself chasing after too many goals.

Maintaining work-life balance is a constant learning process. The tricky part is that sometimes, we are so focused on achieving a goal that we don’t notice that we are way beyond our limits when it’s too late. Only recently, I had to learn this lesson the hard way. I was so deeply immersed in my work and training that I didn’t realize I was overstepping my boundaries until my body sent me signals that I couldn’t ignore.

I wish I could say that I master work-life balance, but in reality, I will probably never stop learning. Recently, I have started being more conscious about giving myself time to rest – mentally and physically. I love spending time in nature, reading a good book, or journaling.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My ideal trip to Savannah would include a lot of good food (breakfast at Collins Quarter, coffee at PERC, and dinner at Ukiyo). My favorite places in Savannah are the ones with the best views, like Wormsloe Historic Site, Tybee Island, or Isle of Hope. I’d probably take my friends on a bike ride because that’s the best way to explore the city.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to thank my family and my partner for always being there for me and believing in me. I’m incredibly lucky to have someone to lean on when things aren’t going the way I hoped.

I also contribute a lot of my success to SCAD, as a student, athlete, and professional. I would be a completely different person if I hadn’t taken the opportunities that SCAD provides.

Website: https://juliagralki.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julia.gralki/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-gralki/