Jim Murphy has been a teacher at Chippewa Valley High School for more than 35 years and this January, he’s decided to retire.
It’s his students past and present who have not only nominated him as Ann Marie’s All Star, but want to send him off in a big way.
When Mr. Murphy announced he’d be retiring, Kelsey Lievens decided she wanted to give him the thing he’d always talked and dreamed about- a trip to Ireland.
Life wasn’t always easy for Lievens, especially in school where she had an Individualized Education Plan.
“I had an IEP because of my stuttering,” Lievens said.
She’s just one of thousands of students Murphy – known to the students as “Murph” – has helped find a path.
“So he got me a job at a school in the district and I worked for childcare there which was my paving stone to my future,” she said.
His office is evidence of that, filled with pictures, teams he’s coached and letters of gratitude from the lives he’s touched in the past 35 years at Chippewa Valley. Tucked away in the corner, is a map of Ireland.
“I just want him to realize the lives he’s impacting because he doesn’t think he’s done anything special and he has done above and beyond,” Lievens said.
She and more than 100 past and current students want to send Murph to Ireland as he looks to retire in January.
They’ve set up a GoFundMe pagewhich is now filled with donations, well wishes and stories of gratitude.
“You don’t really know how you effect people you know, you really don’t,” he said. “And to have people do this for me, it’s just a humbling experience.”
That humility that made him hesitant to sit down with Action News for our interview, Lievens was nervous about her stutter.
“Let’s just do it and he agreed and said we’ll just get through it together,” she said.
That’s been Murph’s motto, working together and helping special needs students – in the area they’re many times struggling in most.
“He always would tell me you’re beautiful and he would always tell that to everyone because he wanted everyone to have a high self-esteem,” Lievens said.
It’s with that self-esteem Lievens was able to sit down with Action News.
“I would have never done this. I want to do this for him because he deserves this,” she said.
And it’s with that motivation she’s determined to send Murph to the Emerald Isle.
We want to know who you think should be honored as our next All Star – submit the person going above and beyond in your community.
You can contribute to Mr. Murphy’s Ireland trip through the GoFundMe page.
