A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Rachel Murray

A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Rachel Murray

Discussions about schools often boil their makeup down to three main groups, students, teachers, and administrators. This lets a lot of the other people who play key roles in kid’s lives go underappreciated – like volunteer coaches, lunch staff, and social workers like Rachel Murray.

Murray is a Region native, born at Porter Hospital in Valparaiso and raised in Chesterton. She graduated from Chesterton High School and then stayed local when she attended Valparaiso University, earning a Bachelor’s degree in social work. She worked for a few years before deciding that she wanted to complete a Master’s degree in the same field, which she went on to earn from Indiana University Northwest. Now, she’s the first social worker for Morgan Township Middle/High School.

“I’d always had in the back of my mind the idea that I wanted to work in schools,” Murray said. “I did some internships at schools and that kind of blossomed into the career that I have now. I’ve done other work, most of it with children and families, but primarily my work has been in public schools.”

Murray also spent time at Myers Elementary in Portage, as well as Cooks Corners Elementary and Valpo High in Valparaiso. Being a social worker is possibly the most emotionally taxing job available at any school and the problems Murray tackles can be intense.

“Being in school is like a little snippet of society,” Murray said. “At an elementary school, things are a little more planned out with one-on-one meetings about situations like a divorce, developing social skills, or behavioral problems. At high school, it’s more like triage. There are crisis situations, whether it be from relationships or mental health issues like suicidal thoughts.”

Safely navigating those complex issues is exhausting, so what keeps Murray motivated is complex – but it is never something she would give up.

“For me, it comes down to relationships that you build, not only with staff members and parents but more so the kids,” she said. “To see them learning not just academically, but socially and emotionally, and seeing things click for a student or saying the exact thing they needed to hear at that moment is so nice to experience.”

As for what initially sparked her interest in social work, Murray cannot say. She believes that rather than any specific “light bulb” moment, the career simply matched the way she grew as a person throughout life.

“I can remember, even in back in elementary school that I was partnered up with someone who had a learning disability,” she recalled. “I think I just have a lot of patience and was always seen as someone who could help out, and I enjoyed that, embraced that, and it probably had a lot to do with my work later on.”

In her off hours, Murray focuses on family. Her husband is just like her, lifelong Region resident and native. They have three kids and live in Chesterton, frequently taking trips to local sights like the European Market.

“I and my husband both absolutely love this community,” Murray said. “It’s small, but not so small that there weren’t a lot of opportunities. Especially the school systems, the Duneland School System is so amazing that I can’t say enough good things about it. Plus, we’ve stayed here and I can’t see us ever leaving.”