Red Raider Club Scholar Athlete of the Month: Alli Murphy
November 01, 2015 | Women's Soccer
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November 1, 2015
Written by: Kayla Chandler, Athletics Communications
Alli Murphy, a senior midfielder from Plano, Texas, never fails to put in an immense amount of effort into everything she does. Nothing changed as she decided to attend Texas Tech University and join the soccer team.
As a civil engineering major, Murphy recognizes how important it is to stay on task.
"It's all about prioritizing and scheduling and making sure you get your work done early," Murphy said. "For me, it's like I know I need sleep so I can perform well on the field, so that means not necessarily wasting time in areas where I could be studying."Murphy was motivated by others to pursue civil engineering, especially due to her love for math. She said she interned with a civil engineering company after her first year at Texas Tech University.
"I just kind of like having different projects, and every math problem was different," Murphy said. "I just dove in and was going to make the most of my time here and so I went for it."
Murphy's adviser and professor, Ken Rainwater, said Murphy is a capable and well above average student.
"She has an appropriate level of personal initiative and self esteem," Rainwater said. "She holds herself to high standards and she's thinking about her multiple potential futures and trying to put herself in the best position for whichever one turns out."
He said he appreciates seeing young students make the decision early on to prioritize certain life obligations. He also thinks she will prosper in the civil engineering world.
"Her take-care-of-business attitude is going to make the people love her wherever she works," Rainwater said, "because she's billable and efficient."
Rainwater said it has been pleasure working with Murphy.
"People like her make my job the best it can be," Rainwater said. "I really appreciate y'all honoring her this way."
Murphy was awarded Team Academic All Big 12 two years in a row.
"Just for me personally," Murphy said, "it means that I was able to balance my school work and soccer and still be able to perform at a high level, which is what I think any student athlete wants to be able to do in college."
She said she is proud that it shows how much effort all of the student athletes are doing for the soccer program and Texas Tech University.
Murphy said she is driven by competition in the classroom and on the soccer field, especially when friends are in the same class.
"I'm really kind of self-motivated, I'm competitive," said Murphy. "Grades to me are another thing that I can win."
