Liberal Arts student, NAACP president makes the most of Penn State experience

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State student Lenneya Murray’s interest in true crime — her love for the law and her interest in people and their stories — has definitely helped her define her undergraduate path. The Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar is double majoring in criminology and sociology and about to begin her third year at Penn State.

“I 100% always knew I wanted to study criminology,” said Murray, who is originally from Brooklyn, New York. “I love criminology because it’s focused on the people rather than the system. Sociology is so similar; it’s all about people.”

While Murray may have made up her mind early on what majors she wanted to pursue in college, her choice of which college to attend wasn’t quite as forgone a conclusion, she said.

“I knew that Penn State had a good criminology program, but I honestly didn’t think I’d end up here,” she said. “I felt I would have been narrow-minded if I didn’t leave the city and my state, so Penn State was the right push to try new things.

“I’ve made so many good friends [since I got here], so I know I made the right decision.”

Murray has become a leader within the student community since coming to Penn State as well. This academic year, for example, she is involved as a member of the Penn State Mock Trial Association and the Penn State Speech and Debate Society, in addition to serving as president of Penn State’s NAACP chapter.

“My goal this year is to really expand the chapter off campus and into the community,” Murray said. “Last year, the NAACP organized a rally at the Supreme Court to advocate for student debt cancellation, and I got to lead the Penn State chapter there. It was really cool to bring in another community outside of the Penn State campus, and also get to connect with other chapters.”

Another unexpected benefit of coming to Penn State has been being part of the College of the Liberal Arts.

“The college has given me so many opportunities as an out-of-state student,” Murray said. “They have provided so many funding opportunities. I took a class last fall and got to go to Curacao over Thanksgiving, which was so cool. I’ve also applied for internship funding [to help with] my commute and other expenses. The college really recognizes and supports my academic success.”

As Murray begins the second half of her academic journey, she reflected on the impact the Penn State community has had on her so far.

“Being the president for the NAACP, I’ve really thought about how I want to come across to others and how I want other executive committee members to feel,” Murray said. “I want people to feel comfortable asking for help or letting me know they are overworked and may have to sacrifice something to get their work done. I want to make an environment where people are more willing to ask for help, and people are more willing to provide help in return.

Similarly, she looks back at the beginning of her academic career at Penn State and how she has evolved since.

“I’ve also learned it’s okay to fail,” she said. “I’ve learned to cut myself some slack. I remember feeling scared and stressed coming here — I’m from Brooklyn so it's a very different environment. There’s not a lot of sky in New York, but I remember coming here over the summer my freshman year and just looking at the vast sky and land. It made me realize how much opportunity was ahead of me, and I’m very thankful for that.”