Julia Silverman ’06

 

To facilitate mass production of the “sOccket” and global distribution to those in need, Julia co-founded Uncharted Play, Inc., a social enterprise that encourages people around the world to rethink the purpose of play and keep joy at the forefront of their lives.  

 

Before committing to work full-time on “sOccket,”  Julia worked at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. as an analyst in the Africa Sustainable Development Department. Now, as a member of the Harvard Business School Class of 2014, she hopes she will be able to leverage her business skills to better serve resource-poor communities.

 

After graduating from Groton in 2006, Julia studied social anthropology and economics at Harvard, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to her coursework, she pursued her interest in strategic, entrepreneurial approaches to social progress by traveling and working throughout the African continent. As the founder of the Harvard College Alliance for Africa, Julia led field initiatives for health and education in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa. Her Groton roommate, Katie Gannett ’06, joined her on many trips abroad.

 

Katie wasn’t the only companion from Groton—Julia took along lessons from her education here. “One of the greatest gifts that Groton offers its students is the freedom to take intellectual and extracurricular risks,” Julia said. “For me, the ability to try out—and fail at—new things emboldened me to embrace rather than fear the unknown. By encouraging me to travel to unfamiliar areas, sometimes literally, Groton helped me to develop the sense of unbounded curiosity to which I owe much of my personal success.”