Murray Awarded Teacher of the Year

by Sammy Myette

Teacher of the year is a wonderful award, but for World Cultures teacher June Murray the honor is watching her students leave her class with not just knowledge, but compassion for the world.

Murray teaches the World Cultures classes at Hudson High. On April 8, she was awarded Teacher of the Year by the Massachusetts Council for Social Studies. She did not find out about her nomination until she got the email telling her she won.

“I kept asking myself, ‘Is this real?’” Murray said.

For her students, her teaching ability is very real.

“She not only teaches us educational,” said senior Kyah Eichholz, “but also life lessons and how to be a good person.”

“How and what to pay attention to in the world,” said sophomore Jared Graham.

“How to be active in your community,” added senior Michaela Savell.

“And she cares about each individual student,” said Eichholz. “We are not just names on a roster.”

Murray lives up to the great reputation that her students have given her. She has taught in Cali, Colombia, taken her students to Costa Rica and the Amazon, and has done many services to benefit not only her classroom, but the whole world.

Two years ago, she and her students organized a concert with former child soldier and singer, Emmanuel Jal. Together they raised $10,000  to go towards building schools in Sudan. Currently, her World Cultures: Oceania class is planning an assembly about human trafficking.

Even though she has accomplished much, Murray’s greatest satisfaction comes from simply doing her job. Emails from past students telling of their accomplishments puts a smile on her face.

“I am really honored by the acknowledgement from the state,” she said, “but I get up every morning and I go to work and I do my job. And I love it.”