ALTON - Julie Botterbush started as a candystriper at St. Anthony’s Hospital. Now, she’s the Administrative Director of Nursing Operations for SSM Health.
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Botterbush, one of the YWCA’s ten 2025 Women of Distinction, will be honored at the Y’s annual gala for her commitment to the community. As she reflected on her career and community service, Botterbush has a powerful message for other young women.
“I worked the AIDS epidemic, I worked the COVID epidemic, and everything in between,” she said. “The biggest thing, if I could tell a young girl, if I could tell myself, if I could tell my 1986 self — be your biggest hero. Believe in yourself. Be resilient. And don’t give up. You may have to try harder, you may have to try a couple of times, but bounce right back.”
Botterbush began training to be a nurse at the J.B. Johnson Center at Alton High School in the 1980s. She loved the job and decided to become an LPN.
But one day, a counselor at the high school stopped her and asked why she wasn’t signed up to take the ACT or SAT. When Botterbush said she wasn’t planning to go to college, the counselor told her she had more in her.
With this woman’s help, Botterbush got the scholarships she needed to attend SIUE and become an RN. She then received her master’s degree and went on to become a supervisor and assistant director. She has held her current position for the past year.
She credits all the people who “believed” in her, from that high school counselor to her bosses, for her success, along with her own hard work. As a supervisor, she tries to mentor young people and give them opportunities to succeed, just like she had. She noted that it is “unbelievable” that she was named a Woman of Distinction this year.
“I started out at the very bottom and thinking where I’ve been, where I’ve gone, that’s why I try to encourage people,” she explained. “They believed in me, so I’ve tried to encourage other people.”
She has advice for others who want to participate in community service or help others as a mentor. She encourages people to find what they enjoy and embrace it, but also to step out of their comfort zones.
Botterbush loves helping at food drives, and she makes it a point to do so often. But she wouldn’t be where she is today if she hadn’t pushed herself. She urges others to let themselves try new things and test their limits.
“Where you begin is not where you’re going to go,” she added. “Where you begin is not your end, unless you want it to be. But if you’ve got a dream, chase it. If there's a chance, take it. Get out of your comfort zone and believe in yourself, even if nobody else does. You have to be your biggest fan.”
This is the fifth in a series of articles about the ten 2025 Women of Distinction. For more information about the YWCA’s Women of Distinction Gala, visit the official YWCA Facebook page.
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