Randy Murphy
Aug 13, 2010 14:04 Filed in: Alumni
Stories
My plan to work in the construction industry after
graduation lasted about a year. I decided that I
wasn't going to make a career doing physical labor
and ended up working my way up through the ranks at
an electronics manufacturer in San Jose. By February
1985, I was in management and met my wife-to-be,
Kellie, when she was a temporary receptionist in the
front office. After a whirlwind romance, we married
in May, a mere three months after being introduced.
We bought our first home in Stockton in early 1987
and I was laid off about three months later. I found
a job in management at the new Toys R Us distribution
center shortly thereafter. A few other similar jobs
followed, and I ultimately found work as the Northern
California Regional Distribution Manager for
Petco in August 1993, where I remained for 8 years. I
traveled around the country while I was employed at
Petco, serving as the equivalent of a firefighter as
I resolved various crises at the company's numerous
other warehouses. After about 4 years, I had an
epiphany while interviewing candidates for
an opening in our Boston-area
warehouse. I realized that many of the
unemployed applicants who lacked a college degree
(like me) had made their way into upper management
(like me) and were unable to find a job that paid
anything close to what they were previously earning.
I had no problem projecting myself into their shoes:
50-something, unemployed with mortgage and car
payments, tuition for the kids, etc. I quickly
enrolled at the University of Phoenix and earned my
BS in Business Management in about 3
years. During this time, my family and I moved
into the Sierra foothills and bought a home in the
Gold Country community of Columbia in 1996. Shortly
after graduating (with honors) in 2001, I
changed careers entirely and started working as
the Business Manager for Tuolumne County Public
Works, where I remained for almost 5 years. During
this time I earned my Masters in Public
Administration. We all moved to Oregon when I took a
job as the Business Manager for the Salem Police
Department. That adventure was short-lived, however,
as my lovely bride did not like the 'liquid sunshine'
so prevalent in the Northwest, so I found a job with
Glenn County as the Deputy Director of Planning and
Public Works in May 2007. We subsequently moved to
Chico, where we remain today.
We have two terrific children: Meghan, born in August 1994 and Benjamin, born in December 1999. Meghan is an accomplished actress, starring in several community theater productions while maintaining a straight-A GPA through her sophomore year at Chico High. Ben is a budding athlete, recently playing his way on to the local Little League 10-year-old All-Stars in spite of missing the first third of the season with a broken arm, suffered while snowboarding a week before the season began. Kellie has the most important job of all: putting up with me for over 25 years now, being a stay-at-home mom and doing all of the things that make being a family great.
We just returned from a two-week trip around the western US, visiting family and going to Major League Baseball games in five different cities, endng up in San Francisco, where we saw the Giants complete a sweep of the hated Dodgers! As an aside, I've now observed a game in 16 of the 30 Major League ballparks and am just over half way in completing one of my bucket list goals.
We have two terrific children: Meghan, born in August 1994 and Benjamin, born in December 1999. Meghan is an accomplished actress, starring in several community theater productions while maintaining a straight-A GPA through her sophomore year at Chico High. Ben is a budding athlete, recently playing his way on to the local Little League 10-year-old All-Stars in spite of missing the first third of the season with a broken arm, suffered while snowboarding a week before the season began. Kellie has the most important job of all: putting up with me for over 25 years now, being a stay-at-home mom and doing all of the things that make being a family great.
We just returned from a two-week trip around the western US, visiting family and going to Major League Baseball games in five different cities, endng up in San Francisco, where we saw the Giants complete a sweep of the hated Dodgers! As an aside, I've now observed a game in 16 of the 30 Major League ballparks and am just over half way in completing one of my bucket list goals.