Jacobs Receives Alumni Service Award

by Bill Sulon

July 2, 2010

Dickinson College honored Julie Schoenberg Jacobs, class of 1990, with the Walter E. Beach Distinguished Alumni Award for Service during alumni weekend ceremonies recently at the college.

“I like to volunteer and help, especially when it’s something I believe in,” said Jacobs, who enjoys getting involved and has taken on many roles as a Dickinson student and alumna. At Dickinson she was a rush chair and officer for Delta Nu sorority, senior class officer, a member of Mermaid Players and Dance Theatre Group, a phonathon caller and an admissions tour guide.

“I’m a cheerleader type, and when I discovered I could be a tour guide I thought, ‘What a great job!’ ” she said. “It totally fit my nature, and it helped me in my career now. It was my first attempt at sales. When I believe in a product—and I believe in Dickinson’s product—I can sell it well.”

Jacobs’ first job after graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in Spanish was at an ad agency in New York, where she put the skills she honed at Dickinson to use. “The company held a volunteer day,” she said. “I had done Meals on Wheels through Delta Nu, so I picked something similar, God’s Love We Deliver, and I’m still involved with that organization today.”

Her next job was with Entertainment Weekly as a sales representative and director of business development, which is how she met husband A.J., an acclaimed writer.

In 2002, Jacobs became the first employee of Watson Adventures, a company that organizes scavenger hunts with an intellectual twist. “Much like with Dickinson admissions, I believed in the product,” she said. “I’ve been there almost 10 years. I oversee private hunts, have three sales people who report to me, make pitches to clients and oversee communications.”

A self-proclaimed organizer, Jacobs was a natural fit to run the New York City Club, where she was instrumental in organizing a variety of alumni events and starting the club’s crown jewel and her proudest accomplishment, the annual holiday party that benefits a city nonprofit shelter. This tradition continues today allowing alumni to accomplish two goals at the same time—to see friends and help people in need.

Jacobs also joined the college’s board of advisors. “It was a great way to feel like you were contributing,” she said. “We were a sounding board for ideas.”

The college decentralized the board and its members became regional cabinet chairs. “The New York cabinet was great at that stage of my life,” she said. “Dickinson is good at encouraging students and alumni to get involved and makes it easy for you to find your niche, whether it’s a sorority, work study, a major—there’s a way for you to connect, and I love that about it.”

This award is one of three Distinguished Alumni awards presented each year at Dickinson College’s annual alumni weekend. The awards recognize outstanding alumni of Dickinson. Selected entirely by fellow alumni, recipients must demonstrate exemplary service to the college, accomplishment in their professional and civic lives and strength of character. Members of the Leadership Committee of the Alumni Council determine the recipients from among those nominations that are received.

The award for service is named for philanthropic alumnus Walter E. Beach, a member of the class of 1956 and a lifelong supporter of Dickinson College. Beach died in 2006.

“The Walter E. Beach Distinguished Alumni Award for Service is given annually to that person who has distinguished him or herself through dedicated service to the College,” said Dickinson College President William G. Durden, a member of class of 1971. “And Julie has done just that.”