Upon first meeting Julie Dumler, you can come to a safe, accurate conclusion: she is nice. She exudes niceness in every way – her very appearance is warm, welcoming, maternal. When she talks, the phrase “a voice like bells” suddenly becomes fitting. And her actions with coworkers and patrons at the library of North Central College certainly support the idea that she is kindhearted.
But in a world filled with people generically described as “nice” when no other adjective can come to mind, why is Julie Dumler worth noting?
Unfortunately, the overuse of the word nice has caused it to lose some of its power as a valuable adjective. “Nice” is used to describe a person when you cannot seem to find any other stand-out, redeeming qualities in them. “Nice” is used when you are recounting your experience at your boyfriend’s aunt’s 52nd birthday party at the local TGI Friday’s. And “nice” is used to pacify your conversation partner when they tell you an in-detail account of their exceptionally average day. Nice, sadly, is very rarely used with its true, complete definition intact.
But, when someone refers to Julie as nice, it can only be taken as it is truly intended.
“I never knew someone could be so truly nice,” said Heidi Popovich, Julie’s coworker at the library. “It’s all genuine.”
That is what make Julie stand out amongst the carelessly dubbed “nice people”. She is genuine in every single, kind thing she does.
Photo by Michaela Daly
On a Friday morning, her boss calls in sick to the library. Her calm, but concerned, voice reveals the situation to the rest of the office.
“Of course, I’ll look into that. Yes, I will see what I can find. I hope your day of rest helps.” she says to her boss on the phone. No one is aware of what exactly he is asking of her, but we all know she will do whatever she can, to help accomplish whatever needs to be done in his absence.
Julie hangs the phone up, turning her eyes, filled with genuine empathy, toward me and says to the open office, “That poor guy, he just sounds awful. Like when you have one of those really terrible colds, oh.”
Her concern for the boss, at home with a cold, is not fake. You can see in the way she places a hand on her heart when she speaks, as if it hurts to think of another person in discomfort. You can hear it in her voice – a pure emotion that could not be faked by the best of actresses.
Every morning, Julie says good morning to each person that passes her desk and follows it up with the stereotypical “How are you?” But unlike most cases, where the person simply asks out of obligation and expects the standard “Fine,” in reply, when Julie asks, you are inclined to answer honestly. For some reason, she gives off the vibe that she would truly be interested and concerned in how you are doing – for her, it doesn’t seem to just be a nicety, but an authentic inquiry on your well-being. That you could tell her your worries, fears, joys, and triumphs and she would actually care.
Eryn Sanclemente, a student worker at the library who is often in daily contact with Julie, is grateful for the positivity that she radiates to everyone around her.
“She is honestly a blessing in my day,” Eryn says.
“Sweetness and light, that is Julie,” Heidi concurs, unable to find a fault.
Even something so simple and subconscious that Julie does – keeping a small bowl of candy continuously filled for whoever may be in need of a sugar pick-me-up – makes a difference to those around her.
“Julie is a goddess among us in that she always has candy on her desk,” a fellow librarian jokes. “She is a bright light in an otherwise dreary world.”
It is clear, the kindness of Julie is not something she works at – it comes naturally and purely as insulting women comes to Donald Trump.
Of course, she is more than just nice.
Belinda Cheek, another librarian, remembers hiring Julie for the position months ago.
“It was obvious she would want to do whatever she could to help our patrons or library staff,” Belinda says of the interview with Julie. “She is just helpful. I mean, she just wants to help everyone.”
She has been described as everything from capable to sincere, hilarious to eternally positive, sweet to “a crazy sports fan”. And she is certainly not the type of mother that her daughter would be embarrassed to have working on the same campus she attends college at.
“We have always had a super close relationship, so having her on campus is just like having another friend on campus,” her daughter Sarah says.
In a world of “fake” nice, Julie Dumler seems to encapture the true, honest-to-goodness definition of nice.
