California State Fullerton’s Julie Virjee is best known around campus for her role alongside the university’s president, but when Virjee introduces herself to people around campus, she’s not the university’s first lady, she’s just Julie.
Virjee grew up in Southern California in the Burbank/Glendale area and experienced a fairly normal childhood. She was involved with many activities, including the Girl Scouts, and piano and ice skating lessons. She tried everything she was able to.
“My parents were very sweet and just let me try things that I have never tried before. It was fun,” Virjee said.
Virjee loved family time and being goofy with loved ones. She was especially close to her father, a prominent surgeon, and looked up to him in many ways.
“All of his lab coats had his name and said M.D. He always told me that M.D. stood for ‘my daddy.’ I really took that to heart; he was my everything,” Virjee said.
Virjee was torn between two universities after high school but ultimately decided on the University of California, Santa Barbara for her undergraduate degree. While at UCSB she joined a sorority and held multiple positions.
She enjoyed her college years and said that it was there that she learned about her passions for philanthropic work. She is now immersed in her nonprofit, Yambi Rwanda, an organization committed to creating opportunities and helping the lives of the victims of genocide in Rwanda.
“I am very drawn to Rwanda and I’m drawn to the beautiful people that I get to meet. If I can help one person each trip then that’s great. I get so much joy out of it,” Virjee said.
Jeannie Mollenauer, financial manager for the president’s office, said Virjee is a fun, down-to-earth person and described her as committed, hardworking and loving. She also said that her philanthropic work is impressive.
At a Halloween party at UCSB, she met Fram Virjee. They started off as good friends, which ultimately built the foundation of their relationship.
“We have been married for 33 years but we’ve known each other for 40 years,” Julie Virjee said.
Virjee is a family-oriented person and has three accomplished sons of her own who are now adults. She mentioned that the household was crazy when the boys were younger as they also had two big dogs, a Saint Bernard and a Great Dane.
“She’s raised some fine young men who I had the opportunity to meet at a couple of social events, and they are amazing, so you can see a reflection of her in her boys,” Mollenauer said.
In addition to family time, Virjee also enjoyed entertaining guests at the El Dorado Ranch, the university-owned presidential home. Throughout the week Virjee has several guests over and said the doors should be open.
Her role as first lady of the university involves a packed schedule of meetings, appearances and speaking at several events. She loves to be out on campus and talking to students one-on-one, which she says is her favorite part of the job.
“I’ve been a volunteer in lots of different roles before and I truly believe that God was layering all of my passions and teaching me as I went along to kind of do what I’m doing now,” Virjee said.
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