How many of us have ever heard of Capitol College, Julie wonders. Not many, she bets. "For the record," she says, "Capitol got its start as a vocational school, but for the last 15 years it's been offering accredited undergraduate and graduate-level programs in Computer Science, Engineering and Telecommunications. And we've got an excellent online learning program. I think we're the only school in the area that teaches online using live, two-way streaming audio. You can listen to your professor lecture, watch their live PowerPoint presentation and raise your virtual hand and talk if you have something to say. It's very interactive."

Julie is tackling Capitol's name recognition problem this summer. "My main site and my 'baby' is the Capitol College site (www.capitol-college.edu). Baby's gonna get a new pair of shoes by this summer. When I return from the holidays, I finally get to dig into a long-overdue site overhaul as the school goes through a major re-branding process."

Capitol College hired Julie in 1997. She knew the job was right for her, and to boot it was only a five-minute commute from her home. Quite a difference from the hour trip each way she had driving to work in downtown DC. When she saw Capitol's ad in the newspaper for an entry-level Webmaster she jumped at the opportunity. "Every time I drove past the school, I would chant, 'Hire me! Hire me! Hire me!' and doncha know, it worked!!"

"And," advises Julie, "if chanting doesn't work, here's a tip for all you job hunters out there: read the job ad closely and really customize your cover letter. Capitol's ad said, 'List how your skills meet our position requirements.' After a brief introduction, I literally drew a line in the center of the page and made two bulleted lists that said 'You want skill A, I've got 2 years' experience in skill A'. It was very readable and I was told later that I was their first choice because I was the only applicant who followed those ad instructions."

After getting a degree from GWU in the early 90's, Julie worked in International Affairs. At her last international job, she maintained the organization's web site in addition to other administrative duties. All the international organizations she worked for depended on USIA/USAID grant money during that time of major federal budget cuts in international development. "After being downsized twice in a two-year period, I decided it was time to start looking at a more stable career path." And she found one.

During her off hours, Julie works on http://www.midnightsquadron.org, a kiting site. "Even if you're not into kites, check out the photo gallery. It's made from a free PHP application called YAPPA. It takes all the photos I upload to the directory and auto-magically generates the album with thumbnails, navigation, etc."

Moving her computer room into larger quarters to make space for her new Macs is another current after-work task. "This year my husband and I got 'Switch campaign' religion. I got one of the new iMacs and he got a dual-processor G4. We're both having a geekin' good time."

Julie is an active member of DCWW. "I've learned a lot from the list, so I always try to take time out to answer questions whenever I can." We've all enjoyed her posts of interesting siteseeing spots.

Her favorite sites are

be http://www.visualthesaurus.com/ – A really wild Java-powered 3D model word association.

http://www.w3schools.com/ – A well-done collection of tutorials in all sorts of Web technologies.

http://www.about.com/ – With a guide for dang near any subject you can think of, one of Julie's favorite jumping-off places when she needs to 'go deep' on a subject.

http://www.userfriendly.org/ – A slyly written Internet comic strip to make geeks giggle.