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Charles Murphy

Center: Charles Murphy and family

“Work hard, go to school and good things will come to you,” was the message given to Charles Murphy as a boy by his grandmother who escaped communism from Riga Latvia, one of the Baltic States, to come to America and raise him. Those words of advice always remained in his mind and in 1995 at age 39, Charles Murphy decided to return to school as an adult learner and enrolled at Curry College in Milton.

He worked as a power plant engineer and could see the industry changing. While he had already moved into a management position, he knew that he would need to develop additional business skills to complement his technical knowledge and skills.

“ I first called another local college and attempted to set up an appointment with an advisor. I did this three times, and three times the advisor was not available,” remembers Charles. Deflated and a bit timid, Charles then called Curry College. “This time I did meet with an advisor and who made me feel very comfortable. That first meeting has always stuck in my mind.”

As he started his college career, Charles also recalls how important his first few teachers were. Charles smiles warmly when he thinks about Ken Quigley, now President of Curry College, and Ernie Silver, Chair of the Management Department at Curry. “They were great teachers,” said Charles. They, as well as the many other faculty members, challenged him to learn and provided the personal attention adult students do need and want. When asked what helped him succeed, Charles responded, “Everyone at Curry was openly accepting and provided personal attention. They were willing to help and always stayed connected if you needed help.”

While adult students like Charles Murphy have flooded back to school in recent years in record numbers, this rapid growth in adult education challenged many colleges to meet their unique needs. At Curry College, however, providing an individualized approach to learning is the primary objective in the College’s mission statement. The environment at Curry offers adults like Charles an opportunity to receive the personalized support needed to complete a program successfully.

But it wasn’t always easy. At work, Charles was on-call, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Two years ago, Charles’ father became quite sick and died. During that time, Charles had to miss a few terms.

And though there were some family sacrifices along the way, it was his family that had kept him going towards his goal. Joined by his wife, children and mother, Charles proudly received a bachelor’s degree in Management at Curry’s graduation ceremony on May 18.
During his years at Curry, Charles was given an Alexander Graham Bell award for academic excellence and inducted into Sigma Delta Phi, the management honor society.
Charles has since been promoted again and now holds a management position with even greater responsibilities. He has also become a role model to his family. Inspired by Charles’ efforts, his wife, a professional artist, also decided to return to school two years ago.
Charles’ hard work has brought good things indeed.

Bright Future Ahead For Alex Pezeshkan

F. Fred and Alex Pezeshkan

Alex Pezeshkan of Naples, Florida proudly crossed the stage with the graduating class of 2003 at commencement. Alex’s father and Curry College Trustee, F. Fred Pezeshkan, shared in the excitement of the day on stage. Alex’s counselor and longtime faculty member Professor James G. Salvucci speaks very highly of Alex and his achievements at Curry College. A business management major, Salvucci noted that Alex is one of the “classiest students” he has ever had in more than thirty-five years of teaching at Curry.

“ Alex frequently distinguished himself in class presentations by being well prepared, well dressed, and the type of professional the business world expects. I know he will have a bright future.”
Among Alex’s experiences during his college career was a summer internship in Washington D. C. with the George W. Bush administration as well as with firms such as Palumbo Pavers. Alex also gained excellent experience while working with his father at Kraft Construction of Naples, Florida, a firm considered to be among the largest and leading commercial construction firms in Southern Florida.

Pezeshkan family