Learning to Lead: A Graduate Scholarship Prepared Meghan Murphy for a Future in the Field
They gave me the gift of having no debt, and I'd love to be able to help someone like they did, down the line."
Meghan Murphy '22/M.P.A.'23 has Seton Hall in her blood. Her mother and aunt graduated from the university in 1986.Another aunt earned her J.D. from Seton Hall Law School in 1987.Her grandfather worked for the university’s security department in the 1990s, and her great grandfather studied theology at Seton Hall in the 1950s.
Murphy continued her family legacy when she enrolled in the School of Arts and Sciences at the end of a gap year following her high school graduation from Mount Saint Dominic Academy in nearby Caldwell, New Jersey. It was the fall of 2018, and Murphy, who decided to commute from her home in East Hanover, New Jersey, to save money, wasn't sure what she wanted to study. Then she took a sociology course with Professor C. Lynn Carr.
"Learning why things go wrong in society was just so interesting," Murphy says. "I learned a lot of information I hadn't been previously exposed to, and I could really see myself taking that information into a 'helping' field like nonprofit work."
Murphy declared a sociology major, and as soon as she became eligible junior year, enrolled in the School of Arts and Science's master of public administration program, in which students complete a fifth year to earn their graduate degree. Having funded her undergraduate coursework through scholarships, she applied for scholarships to make grad school possible as well.
"I grew up going there, so I thought that was really cool," says Murphy. "He was super inspiring and obviously left his mark, and thanks to the scholarship, I finished grad school debt free. He gave me this gift of having no debt, and I'd love to be able to help someone out like that down the line."
Murphy received the Thomas J. Stanton Jr., Endowed Scholarship which is awarded to deserving students who have a commitment to public service in New Jersey.
Murphy additionally covered some of her credits through a graduate assistantship in Seton Hall Donor Relations. "I learned soft skills, like speaking with high-level donors, coordinating volunteers and coworker dynamics. I really got a good idea of how nonprofits work, especially from the fundraising side." She gained further experience through Seton Hall's Center for Community Research and Engagement, where she got her feet wet with grant writing.
Today, Murphy works for the Mental Health Association as a prevention consultant, traveling to high schools in New Jersey's Sussex and Morris counties and educating students on mental health issues such as bullying and social media.
"Seton Hall really prepared me with professional skills," she says, "and hopefully this is a stepping stone. I got my degree, in theory, to become a director or a vice president. I'd love to start my own nonprofit if I can, or run one. That's the dream."