Julie Buehler Music

While raising her two children, Julie Buehler worked part-time at jobs that were unfulfilling. But they allowed her to take care of her family.

She was confident that once her second child started kindergarten, she would go back to work. Maybe too, she would return to school to pursue her passion for music and dream of being a choral conductor.

But a freak event changed everything. An accident in a swimming pool left her with a head injury which led to challenges with memory and multi-tasking.

Her recovery was slow but steady. About six years later, Julie felt the pull toward her dream once again. She needed to find something that brought her joy, and not just as a mother but as a person.

“Throughout the chaos, both inside and outside of my home, choral singing, for as long as I can remember, has been for me a source of emotional sustenance, intellectual challenge, and creativity.”

She decided to test the waters first, to see how she managed, going to school and fulfilling her family responsibilities. She enrolled in a music theory class at Bucks and “absolutely loved it.” From then on, she was determined to get her Associate’s Degree in Music before moving on to her Bachelor’s Degree.

“All my life, I struggled with this feeling I had that I was spending all my time and energy being a mom, and I had none left to give to the world at large and through my music.”

Now she says her kids enjoy that she’s a student like them, and they are learning “that they can still pursue a dream even if it means changing your life a little, and also, that moms are people too!”

“Being over 50, it’s not easy going back to school. But being at Bucks makes me feel that, as an older woman and a mom, I am valued for who I am and my life choices.”