Finley Touched by Liz Murray’s Visit
Liz Murray’s story of being homeless at 15 years of age and having just one high school credit on the eve of her 17th birthday and later graduating from Harvard on a scholarship proved to be an inspiring one-hour presentation at J. Taylor Finley Middle School.
Ms. Murray’s parents were drug addicts who, although loving in their own way, proved incapable of establishing a functional family structure and home. When her mother died from HIV/AIDS, Ms. Murray had what she told students was a “what if” moment.
She made the decision on the spot to start living a different type of life, gained acceptance to an alternative high school in Manhattan, completed four years of course work in just two years and won a scholarship from The New York Times that helped her afford to attend Harvard.
“I was so excited to introduce my students to her and let them hear her story because I know that many of them can relate on a number of different levels,” Finley English teacher Kimberly Schiller said. “I feel it was very important for Finley students to hear Liz’s story and I think it was very meaningful to them.”
Ms. Schiller held a class discussion about Ms. Murray in connection to the novel, “The Contender” by Robert Lipsyte, which students recently completed reading. “Then, we read her biography, discussed the adversities Liz faced, what it took to overcome them and what she has achieved now with great perseverance and persistence.”
Finley students were moved by Ms. Murray’s story and presentation, which earlier in the day entranced more than 1,200 students at Huntington High School. “I also emphasized to my students that everyone has faced adversities in their lives, but what makes Liz’s story special is that she can come and speak with us, as one example, of what they can become. As a result, the Finley students asked questions like, ‘How would you be if your parents had never been on drugs?’ and ‘How do you look past the anger you had towards you parents?’ and ‘How did you not fall into drugs and alcohol?’
Ms. Schiller’s colleagues also held discussions with students in their classes about Ms. Murray’s visit. Students on the Wizards team worked on an essay the connected the obstacles Ms. Murray faced with those of the protagonist in “The Contender.” “They are also examining what these obstacles pushed each to achieve and how it changed their lives,” Ms. Schiller said.
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