For most of her life, Julie Hillshafer associated Colorado with summers filled with sunshine and freedom. Years later, she returned; not for vacation, but for a fresh start after life took her through unimaginable challenges.
Julie’s story began with resilience. Her husband passed away unexpectedly, leaving her as a single mom with a ten-year-old daughter. As a young widow, she was determined to build a secure future. When a tornado devastated her hometown of Greensburg, Kansas, Julie didn’t hesitate to act. She led more than 2,500 volunteers in the massive effort to rebuild.
Despite their progress, home never felt the same. Julie took work as a travel nurse, while her daughter moved to Colorado to finish high school. Alone on the road, she began to struggle with depression and addiction, and eventually found herself trapped in an abusive relationship that stripped her of her independence and her ability to work.
“I didn’t have any self-esteem,” she recalls of that season.
With courage and the help of a friend, Julie broke free and entered a sober living facility, determined once again to rebuild. Looking for a new direction, she discovered CrossPurpose. What she found was more than a career program.
Through the program’s personal development classes, Julie began to rediscover her confidence and purpose.
“That personal development class put me right where I needed to be,” she says, “mentally, physically, and spiritually to get ready for a job.”
Now, Julie works full-time in medical billing and coding, a new chapter that allows her to use her skills while living out her renewed sense of purpose. And she’s already thinking about how to give back.
“I have learned to stop dwelling on the me part of everything, the selfish part of me, the parts where I say, ‘Am I good enough?’ And now I have the confidence and the willingness to say, ‘yes’, plain and simple. Yes, I am good enough. Yes, you can do this. Yes, it’s all a yes.”
Today, Julie is rewriting what’s possible for herself and inspiring others to do the same.
