Murray ’22 Named ‘Unsung Hero’

The 37th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee has announced the 2022 Unsung Hero Award winners. Honors senior Nathena Murray, a senior medicinal chemistry and neuroscience major, was named among two Syracuse University students selected for the award.

The Unsung Hero Award is given to community members, students, faculty and staff who have made positive impacts on the lives of others but are not widely recognized for their contributions. The awards were created to honor Dr. King’s vision of creating positive change in a troubled world.

Murray has deeply impacted and inspired her peers through her involvement in various organizations on campus. She had made a lasting impact through her involvement with the Juvenile Urban Multicultural Program, known as J.U.M.P. Nation, where she and her collaborators work to decrease the high school dropout rate while increasing the enrollment into institutions such as Syracuse University. Murray also serves as a mentor for the WellsLink Leadership Program, where she oversees approximately five students and ensures that they are succeeding both academically and socially. Murray is a 2021-22 Remembrance Scholar, one of the highest honors bestowed upon students by Syracuse University. In addition to her work on campus, Murray is also actively involved in the greater Syracuse community. She volunteers weekly at the Rahma Health Clinic, which provides free healthcare to uninsured, under-insured and underserved adults within the South Side community. Murray’s is completing her Honors thesis project this spring. Murray assists Dr. Nangia Shikha in her research lab, and her thesis work focuses on designing new biomaterials using lipid-dated disordered proteins. To read more about Murray and the other Unsung Hero award recipients, read the full story here.