JULIA HICKER
Administrative Assistant / Office Manager
Julia joined Team Feniks in 2021, after learning of an opening from a family friend. She is a Jill-of-all-trades (or Julia-of-all-trades) and has a strong talent for building relationships and a keen sense of customer service. She genuinely strives to connect with every person who walks through the door. She was originally hired to fill a basic receptionist role, but has proven herself capable of running the office. Julia enjoys her continually expanding role and the autonomy which comes with increased responsibility. The culture of personal and professional development at the heart of Feniks & Company allows Julia to discover and design the fulfillment of her professional and personal potential.
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Julia was born in Alaska and raised in Wiseman, a tiny village nestled in the Brooks Range, the last stop for hundreds of miles along the pipeline road to Prudhoe Bay. Julia has a long history of roles in service to others. She was a camp counselor at Wild Rose Summer Camp, worked as a host at Coldfoot Camp, helped make sure accommodations were top notch at Arctic Getaway Cabin and Breakfast (her family’s business), cashiered at Costco, planted and harvested at Bender Mountain Farm (a local organic farm), and participated in Arctic Hare Surveys for the National Park Service.
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Julia holds a Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in German. While working on her degree, she studied abroad in 2017-2018 at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. At the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF), she was awarded the UAF Chancellor’s Scholarship and the Alaska Performance Scholarship.
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Julia is an avid reader of British literature and the classics, as well as light and heavy works on psychology. She enjoys hiking, biking, and camping in the Alaska wild. Her skills in sewing, knitting, and crocheting allow her to make some of her own clothes. Along with gardening, she enjoys potted plants and decoratively painting flower pots. She painted the ones on her desk.
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Julia supports The Door, a youth shelter in Fairbanks, and the Alaska Blood Bank, where she has given a great deal (a pint every couple of months or so). As the COVID-19 pandemic set in with all indications that it was here to stay, Julia volunteered for a vaccination clinic, helping to keep everything sanitized to allow for more and quicker vaccinations.
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More often than not, Julia will be picking up the phone when you call the office.
I really like that I get to talk to the same people often and get to build relationships with them. I've never worked in a small team like this before. At my last job, I was just a cog in a big wheel. Now I like the fact that I can work independently, but I also have a supportive team to help me if I need it."
