Julie Hansen
It took Julie Hansen quite a few years to make it back to her hometown of Bloomington and the Alpha chapter of Tri Kappa. Following college at Indiana University, Julie and her sister, former Alpha chapter member Andi Arter, moved around the country. Julie taught school in San Antonio for three years and Atlanta for another 20 some. “We moved before cell phones,” Julie laughs. “Andi and I bought CBs so we could talk as we drove from San Antonio to Atlanta.”
With her parents getting older, Julie decided to move back home to Bloomington in the summer of 2016. “I told the kids that they were spending their last year living in Georgia,” Julie says. “I told them, ‘We’re going to sell the house and move. I moved to Bloomington with no job and no home at the beginning of that summer. I spent my time job-hunting and house-hunting.”
Both endeavors proved successful, as Julie soon found a home and began teaching second grade at Templeton Elementary that fall. Julie’s first husband, George, died of leukemia in 2000. They had dated for 11 years and been married for four. After his death, Julie taught school for a year in England, and the change of scenery helped her heal. A few years later, she met her second husband, with whom she has four children: Sarah, twins Amy and Ben, and Eva.
Because her mom, Susan Jones, is a Tri Kappa, Julie joined the Alpha chapter right after high school. She was glad she could become active again when she moved back home to Bloomington. “I needed to make connections,” Julie says. “My sister and I knew some people in town, but it was nice to get to know other women through Tri Kappa.”
Julie’s favorite thing about the Alpha chapter is the comradery. She likes meeting in person and working together toward a goal. “I like that everybody chips in,” Julie says. “Everyone is just so pleasant. I love how amazing it is to be able to create so much for local people here in Bloomington in such an easy, almost effortless way. Since there are so many people in Tri Kappa, it’s like a finely oiled machine. There are so many things that work so well.”
More about Julie
Attends City Church
Has a master’s degree in educational technology but isn’t great at trouble-shooting tech problems!
Enjoys travelling
Was born in Ft. Worth, Texas
Likes adventure: she’s been skydiving, scuba diving and hot-air ballooning!