Julia O'Dell Named 2011 Eagle Award Winner
Julia O’Dell, Associate Director of Veterans Upward Bound, was named the National Association of Veterans Upward Bound Project Personnel (NAVUBPP) 2011 Eagle Award winner at the association’s annual conference in Tempe, Arizona. The Eagle Award is the highest honor that can be awarded as the result of nomination from the NAVUBPP membership. It is awarded to a NAVUBPP member for outstanding service, above and beyond the call of duty. Julia has contributed to NAVUBPP in a multitude of various voluntary capacities. She is the current Past President, having served as NAVUBPP president from 2007-2011. In years prior to her presidency, she also served as Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. With each office Julia has held for NAVUBPP, she has worked closely not only with other VUB projects but also with the Department of Education and the Council for Opportunity in Education, to insure that the goals and objectives of VUB meet the needs of some 5,000 deserving veterans nationally each year. The Eagle Award is tacit proof that Julia is highly regarded by her colleagues across the country.
Julia has been the Associate Director of The University of Kansas Veterans Upward Bound, a U. S. Department of Education TRIO program, since its initial funding in 1999. VUB at KU serves 120 low- income, first generation college veterans yearly in Douglas, Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties in Kansas, and Jackson and Clay counties in Missouri. Julia oversees two sites, one in Kansas City, KS and the other at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Veterans Administration Facility in Leavenworth, Ks. Immediately prior to her work at VUB she served as an Army Transitional Counselor at Fort Hood, Texas. Julia holds a B.S. degree in Consumer and Family Economics and an M. S. degree in Human Development and Family Studies, both from Kansas State University. She has extensive experience in working with active duty military personnel, their families and veterans during her more than 25 years as a military spouse.
