G.C. Murray

FIU Degree: B.A. in Humanities, Honors College

Graduation Year: 2008

Lifetime Member since: 2014

Profession: Deputy General Counsel for the Florida Justice Association

Why he joined the FIU Alumni Association: I would not trade my college experience at FIU with anyone in the world–from pledging Alpha Phi Alpha, to winning Homecoming King twice, to being an RA, to serving as the Honors College Representative in SGA, to lifelong friendships and an ever-expanding network. When I was on the precipice of my own maturation from a teen to a man, FIU gave me so much…more than I deserved. While I know it is impossible to show my appreciation to a school that made me a better person than when I first entered its hallowed halls, I also know that I have to try. It took a while, but I became a Lifetime Member of the FIU Alumni Association as an attempt to pay back an insurmountable debt of gratitude; I owe the school at least that much!

What does FIU mean to him: FIU will always serve as a mighty educational institution that embodies tenacity and the pure pursuit of excellence. FIU took my rough edges and perfected them, my dreams and enhanced them, my weaknesses and strengthened them — FIU took my flaws and bettered me. FIU is the school that gave me an opportunity to be the person that I wanted to be. Even now, FIU still helps me accomplish my goals and encourages me; in fact, I recently started a 501(c)(3) named the Innovative Community Engagement (ICE) Foundation, in part, because I wanted to give to others what FIU and others have given to me: a chance to shine [BRIGHT].