Volunteer Spotlight: Julie Linxwiler

Volunteer Julie Linxwiler says she's obsessed with the website Home Exchange, and she uses it to swap her home with the homes of people from all over the world whenever she travels.
Volunteer Julie Linxwiler says she’s obsessed with the website Home Exchange, and she uses it to swap her home with the homes of people from all over the world whenever she travels.
July 2014 Volunteer Spotlight: Julie Linxwiler

Occupation: Julie is a retired teacher and urban planner. “I used to be a Spanish teacher at Edison Computech Middle School. I had a great professional life and I’m happily retired now.”

What kind of work did you do as an urban planner? “The most extreme piece of work I ever accomplished was the county I worked for never had a general plan before. [A plan detailing how the county had developed.] They wanted to create a general plan out of nothing. It took a couple of years, but I did it!”

What do you do now that you’re retired? “I’m a member of the board of the Fresno Arts Council and the purpose of that organization is to raise money to support local artists. The Fresno Arts Council organizes Art Hop. We do a lot of other things too, but I’m really proud of Art Hop because it’s a great combination of my interest in art and my interest in urban planning and it gets people downtown, having a good time.”

Do you have any other hobbies? “I’m doing a lot of world traveling. It has been an interest of mine since I was 15. Just a year ago, my sister and I went to Finland, Estonia, Denmark, and Paris! And I just said goodbye to a family from Mexico City who were staying here while I was in Mexico. I’ve been to Europe four times. I still need to go to Africa, India, and Istanbul!”

What do you love about traveling? “I’m a language person and I love to immerse myself in a language I don’t understand. It forces me to do something that I really enjoy doing.”

How long have you been volunteering for Filmworks and how did you get involved? “I’ve been doing this for about a year. I saw Filmworks online and was immediately intrigued because they show foreign films!”

What do you like most about volunteering with Filmworks? “I love the foreign films that they show. So it’s like paradise to belong to Filmworks because they’re showing exactly what I love.”

Do you think there are any types of films that Filmworks should show more of? “Well, I love black and white films from Italy and France in the 1950s.”

What’s your favorite movie of all time and why? “When I was a 17-year-old high school senior at Fresno High, I had a very cool friend. He said, ‘Let’s go to the movies,’ and he took me to this French movie called “Jules et Jim.” It’s a 1960s French film. It’s standout from the old days – an art film. So that’s kinda how I got started with foreign films.”

Filmworks thanks all of our July 2014 volunteers: Jackie Aldern, Lorna Bonyhadi, Antonio Garcia, Fae Giffen, Tish Griggs, Rebecca Horwitz (intern), Kristie Leyba, Julie Linxwiler, Sarah Nixon, Andre Provencio, Andrew Ranta, Jesus Reyes, Gene Richards, Katrina Riggs, Susan Rogers, Richard Stone, Colby Tibbet, Lorraine Tomerlin, Andrew Veihmeyer, Suzanne Watkins.

Past volunteers in the spotlight: June 2014: Lorna Bonyhadi • May 2014: Celeste DeMonte and Neal Howard • April 2014: Andrew Ranta • March 2014: Lorraine Tomerlin • February 2014: Antonio Garcia • January 2014: Fae Giffen • December 2013: Cleo Bauer and Dominic Papagni • November 2013: Kathryn and Carl Johnsen • October 2013: Linda Hernandez • September 2013: Susan Rogers • August 2013: Joan and Brijesh Sharma • July 2013: Jon Veinberg • June 2013: Richard Stone • May 2013: Sarah Nixon • April 2013: Alyssa Rendon • March 2013: Nené Casares

Contact our volunteer director, Gloria Burrola, to volunteer at a future screening.