Seemingly no obstacle can stand in the way of senior Fiona Murray, a determined and inspirational student with progressive ambitions.
A prominent voice on campus, Murray, political science major, hopes to go to Washington, D.C. upon graduating.
"I've worked on a lot of political campaigns both locally and for the capital district," she said.
Murray has already begun to affect change through her involvement in several organizations including Think Globally Vote Locally, Womyn's Action Coalition, Voices for Planned Parenthood (VOX), and Fighting Against Racial Injustice.
Through her work with these diverse groups, Murray has been able to meet a variety of people, inside and outside of the campus community, that have made a significant difference in her life.
"I think I've been able to accomplish so much because I've worked in and through different groups and worked outside of the college for change," said Murray. "I think that's better than confining yourself to one group."
Murray has been successful in collaborating with members of WAC and VOX to create a campus-wide discussion about sexual assault and helped to organize a domestic violence awareness walk in October.
"This past month we were successful in obtaining a grant from the vice president's office for another sexual assault awareness week for this upcoming April," she said.
Murray considers herself a liaison for other women and students and brings more name recognition and awareness to WAC and its causes.
Murray's ultimate passion is her involvement with TGVL. She attributes its success to the absence of designated officers and positions of rank.
"The best way to be successful is to distribute responsibilities as evenly as possible, to create as much trust as possible, to not put a title to certain people and to make it known that everyone's contributions to the cause are important," said Murray.
Her involvement with TGVL has taught her valuable leadership skills and real world insight rarely found in a classroom. Murray has learned to organize events on a college campus and to create a dialogue of student empowerment.
"I wanted to show peers that we as a student population make a difference and we have just as much of a right as anyone else to vote," said Murray. "I've worked harder at TGVL than anything else up until this point."
She noted that by encouraging students to register, the Democratic Party is now the majority in the Town of Geneseo for the first time in history - a result she finds "pretty cool."
Murray hopes to prove to the school and the greater community that apathy does not exist. "If you go up to any student on campus and ask them what issue is important to them, everyone would be able to answer the question," she said.
Due in large part to Murray's dedication and involvement, Geneseo has grown as a community and school over the past four years.
"I want to make this school a better place," Murray said. "I want my peers to have more opportunities to be engaged and aware."