University of Minnesota Athletics
Alumni Spotlight: Julie Otto
8/14/2018 10:39:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Catch up with Gopher women's hockey alum Julie Otto, one of the original University of Minnesota women's hockey players during the inaugural season in 1997-98.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The 2018-19 season marks the 22nd season of Gopher women's hockey. Twenty-one years of student-athletes set the foundation for where the program is today, and it's time to reconnect with them. Up next in our alumni spotlight is Julie (Otto) Greely.
Greely, a native of Buffalo, Minn., played for the Gophers during the first year of the program in 1997-98. She was part of Minnesota's first-ever women's hockey team, appearing in 31 games and recording eight points on six goals and two assists. Greely scored the first goal in Gopher women's hockey history, scoring the eventual game-winner in the inaugural Gopher game -- an 8-0 win over Augsburg at Mariucci Arena on Nov. 2, 1997. Find out where life has taken Greely since her time on the University of Minnesota campus.
Gopher Sports: Where has life taken you since you graduated from the University of Minnesota?
Julie Greely: I graduated with a broadcast journalism degree, and my first job was in Rockford, Illinois as a morning TV news producer. After a year, I moved to West Virginia with my husband and became the 6 and 10 FOX and ABC News producer for two years. I was then offered a gig back in Minnesota as the morning Good Day Minnesota News producer for Fox 9. I was working the morning of 9/11 and saw the events unfolding on the raw screens before it went live on air. That was a turning point for me in that my husband and I wanted to start a family and I was working overnights and a lot of hours and I knew I needed something else. I was able to make the move over to marketing and move my way up through various health care companies.
GS: Where do you currently live and work?
JG: I live in Chanhassen, Minnesota and work at OptumRx in Eden Prairie, the pharmacy division of Optum, as a Senior Director of Marketing. My role is to make sure we provide our sales and client managers the tools they need to succeed in winning new business as well as retaining existing business. It is continually changing with all of the new pharmaceuticals that are approved, and I love the pace and challenge of the company. Optum hires and pays interns in all fields so if anyone is every interested, you should check it out!
GS: What personal or professional accomplishment(s) are you most proud of since you graduated from the University of Minnesota?
JG: I think there are a couple of things. I think it has been important to celebrate my solo accomplishments and the fact that I was able to even find a job in broadcast journalism makes me proud as it is a very difficult field to get into. And by trying it and doing it, I was able to make my own choice about what I wanted in life and walk away from it as well. Secondly, I am proud of Team Greely, as I call us, because I'm proud of the kids we've had and the life we've built from what we started with 18 years ago. Being a mom to two great kids, as most people understand when they have kids, is so very special.
GS: What is your favorite memory about your time as a Gopher on the ice? Off the ice?
JG: It has to be the first game. It has been the only time when fireworks and streamers have come down on the ice after I scored for one! And two, the new team that had been recently formed just really came together after that game. It was really a fun time in my life. Also, the support from the fans was just unbelievable and so memorable in my mind. I can picture people standing up with signs and that day and screaming for us so vividly. Off the ice, it's hard to pick just one memory. I truly value the friendships I made and the fun we had just goofing around watching people dance to the music in the locker room or getting to know where all of these great hockey players started off and what their lives entailed before I met them. It's rare now that I am back in one room like I was then with such strong, inspiring women.
GS: What are you post proud of from your time as a Gopher?
JG: I am most proud of being a part of the game and the team. I know I wasn't the #1 player out on on the ice, but I got to wear that Gopher jersey just like I had watched the boys wear growing up. Who would have thought I would ever be a Gopher hockey player? The team didn't exist when I was growing up!
GS: What advice would you give your college self/current Gophers?
JG: Enjoy every moment. I know that everyone says that, but it is so true. Don't fret about the small things. "You can be right or you can be happy," is a quote that my husband uses that I love. Sometimes when the going gets tough or when you feel like maybe you aren't playing enough or aren't getting along with your teammates, just remember to go back to the game that you love and remember why you love the game and everything else will fall into place.
GS: How did your college hockey career help prepare you for life after college?
JG: Being a college hockey player helped me in so many ways. At my career, it's interesting because Optum and UnitedHealthcare's culture are centered around five principles: compassion, relationships, performance, integrity, and innovation -- all areas that the team needed to be effective at in order to play successfully at GWH. I also learned how to budget my time well, juggle multiple priorities, get along with a lot of different personalities, and build toward a common goal, how to lead by example and even how to fail and try again. At home, my family is like the team -- we are with each other every day and it's all about supporting each other through thick and thin, like hockey games often play out.
GS: Are you still involved with hockey or sports?
JG: I am not as involved with hockey anymore because now I'm running my kids to dance, gymnastics, tennis, speech, theater -- you name it! I play sometimes as a sub over the winter or in a pick-up game. I do like to still work out. I recently joined a tri-club that meets three days a week to swim, bike, and run, so that's really fun and I really enjoy the people in it.
GS: Who is a Gopher women's hockey player you have enjoyed watching play after you graduated and why?
JG: Because I moved away right after college I didn't get to see many of the players until more recently, and overall I am just so very impressed by the skill of all the players on the team year-over-year. I liked watching Amanda Kessel play because she's one of those players that just keeps working hard no matter what is going on and makes things happen on the ice.
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Greely, a native of Buffalo, Minn., played for the Gophers during the first year of the program in 1997-98. She was part of Minnesota's first-ever women's hockey team, appearing in 31 games and recording eight points on six goals and two assists. Greely scored the first goal in Gopher women's hockey history, scoring the eventual game-winner in the inaugural Gopher game -- an 8-0 win over Augsburg at Mariucci Arena on Nov. 2, 1997. Find out where life has taken Greely since her time on the University of Minnesota campus.
Gopher Sports: Where has life taken you since you graduated from the University of Minnesota?
Julie Greely: I graduated with a broadcast journalism degree, and my first job was in Rockford, Illinois as a morning TV news producer. After a year, I moved to West Virginia with my husband and became the 6 and 10 FOX and ABC News producer for two years. I was then offered a gig back in Minnesota as the morning Good Day Minnesota News producer for Fox 9. I was working the morning of 9/11 and saw the events unfolding on the raw screens before it went live on air. That was a turning point for me in that my husband and I wanted to start a family and I was working overnights and a lot of hours and I knew I needed something else. I was able to make the move over to marketing and move my way up through various health care companies.
GS: Where do you currently live and work?
JG: I live in Chanhassen, Minnesota and work at OptumRx in Eden Prairie, the pharmacy division of Optum, as a Senior Director of Marketing. My role is to make sure we provide our sales and client managers the tools they need to succeed in winning new business as well as retaining existing business. It is continually changing with all of the new pharmaceuticals that are approved, and I love the pace and challenge of the company. Optum hires and pays interns in all fields so if anyone is every interested, you should check it out!
GS: What personal or professional accomplishment(s) are you most proud of since you graduated from the University of Minnesota?
JG: I think there are a couple of things. I think it has been important to celebrate my solo accomplishments and the fact that I was able to even find a job in broadcast journalism makes me proud as it is a very difficult field to get into. And by trying it and doing it, I was able to make my own choice about what I wanted in life and walk away from it as well. Secondly, I am proud of Team Greely, as I call us, because I'm proud of the kids we've had and the life we've built from what we started with 18 years ago. Being a mom to two great kids, as most people understand when they have kids, is so very special.
GS: What is your favorite memory about your time as a Gopher on the ice? Off the ice?
JG: It has to be the first game. It has been the only time when fireworks and streamers have come down on the ice after I scored for one! And two, the new team that had been recently formed just really came together after that game. It was really a fun time in my life. Also, the support from the fans was just unbelievable and so memorable in my mind. I can picture people standing up with signs and that day and screaming for us so vividly. Off the ice, it's hard to pick just one memory. I truly value the friendships I made and the fun we had just goofing around watching people dance to the music in the locker room or getting to know where all of these great hockey players started off and what their lives entailed before I met them. It's rare now that I am back in one room like I was then with such strong, inspiring women.
GS: What are you post proud of from your time as a Gopher?
JG: I am most proud of being a part of the game and the team. I know I wasn't the #1 player out on on the ice, but I got to wear that Gopher jersey just like I had watched the boys wear growing up. Who would have thought I would ever be a Gopher hockey player? The team didn't exist when I was growing up!
GS: What advice would you give your college self/current Gophers?
JG: Enjoy every moment. I know that everyone says that, but it is so true. Don't fret about the small things. "You can be right or you can be happy," is a quote that my husband uses that I love. Sometimes when the going gets tough or when you feel like maybe you aren't playing enough or aren't getting along with your teammates, just remember to go back to the game that you love and remember why you love the game and everything else will fall into place.
GS: How did your college hockey career help prepare you for life after college?
JG: Being a college hockey player helped me in so many ways. At my career, it's interesting because Optum and UnitedHealthcare's culture are centered around five principles: compassion, relationships, performance, integrity, and innovation -- all areas that the team needed to be effective at in order to play successfully at GWH. I also learned how to budget my time well, juggle multiple priorities, get along with a lot of different personalities, and build toward a common goal, how to lead by example and even how to fail and try again. At home, my family is like the team -- we are with each other every day and it's all about supporting each other through thick and thin, like hockey games often play out.
GS: Are you still involved with hockey or sports?
JG: I am not as involved with hockey anymore because now I'm running my kids to dance, gymnastics, tennis, speech, theater -- you name it! I play sometimes as a sub over the winter or in a pick-up game. I do like to still work out. I recently joined a tri-club that meets three days a week to swim, bike, and run, so that's really fun and I really enjoy the people in it.
GS: Who is a Gopher women's hockey player you have enjoyed watching play after you graduated and why?
JG: Because I moved away right after college I didn't get to see many of the players until more recently, and overall I am just so very impressed by the skill of all the players on the team year-over-year. I liked watching Amanda Kessel play because she's one of those players that just keeps working hard no matter what is going on and makes things happen on the ice.
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