Juliana Emmanuelli

For Juliana Emmanuelli, getting ahead also has meant bringing others along with her. For two years, she has worked at the Student Academic Consulting Center at Baruch, where she helped students overcome academic hurdles. Her relationships often expanded from tutor, to mentor, to friend.

“During this time, I really got to know Baruch students and the difficulties many face in achieving higher education. This drove me to volunteer as a tutor in various organizations, including Sanctuary for Families, where I tutored children who have endured traumatic domestic and sexual violence.”

Juliana is a Computer Information Systems major (CIS) but that doesn’t begin to describe the passion she’s applied in learning this field. Having done several internships for corporations like New York Life and JPMorgan Chase, she has drawn from what she’s learned at these private business settings to apply to her work in the nonprofit world.

“I am currently interning at NGO CSW/NY, a civil society NGO of the United Nations. My work focuses on economic empowerment and violence against women. My skills from my time in corporate jobs are invaluable to the organization as we have a very small budget. My specializations in technology help me to figure out ways to make the organization more efficient in addition to my advocacy and research work.”

Juliana also found the time to be active on Macaulay Honors College’s Scholars Council and was a treasurer for Baruch’s Honors Council for three years. Macaulay’s team of advisors at Baruch also awarded her its Legacy award, given each year to an outstanding senior. Juliana also received scholarships and mentorships from the Financial Women’s Association (FWA). She has pursued interests in helping women advance in business and maintains ties to groups like Fem Code, a women in STEM career club.

“For the next year, I will be a part of a special women in STEM program at JPMorgan Chase, called Tech Connect. Under this program, I will be trained as a software engineer and in leadership skills as a woman in business organizations. I hope this will give me a strong foundation to be able to enter the ed-tech sphere and really work to help drive forward innovative solutions and help pioneer women into new fields.”

The Riverdale, Bronx native also studied abroad in Peru and Spain, which fueled her desire to learn more languages, assisting her in her minor in Spanish. Her mother is of Eastern European descent and her maternal great-grandparents arrived in the U.S. through Ellis Island. Juliana’s father was the first in his Puerto Rican family to be born in the mainland U.S. Both parents are lawyers, with her mother retired from working in the public sector in NYC housing courts. They have been a big influence in her life—as has Macaulay.

“Four years ago, if anyone told me I would be getting a degree in CIS I would have called them crazy. Since I did not have to pay for classes, I took so many random courses, and really got to find interests outside of my comfort zone. Traveling really changed me too, and made me realize my desire to be part of sustainable development movements that focus on integrating technology.”

Juliana graduates magna cum laude. It’s an apt description of what she will bring to the world and her immediate surroundings.