EOU welcomes U.S. diplomat July 2

U.S. Diplomat Maureen Murray speaks July 2

June 27, 2014
LA GRANDE, Ore. (EOU) – Maureen Murray will be at EOU Wednesday, July 2 sharing her international experiences as a diplomat for the U.S. Department of State.

The informal presentation begins at 7 p.m. in the Alumni Room in Ackerman Hall, Room 208. It is free and open to the public. Students interested in careers with the Department of State are encouraged to attend.

Murray’s five years in the Foreign Service have taken her to Nicaragua, Brazil and soon West Africa, but she has ties to Union County as well.

Tessie Tarter Murray, a 1970 graduate of EOU, is Murray’s mother. She and her husband Dennis Murray live in Union. Lucia and Bill Tarter, who also lived in Union and La Grande, are Murray’s late grandparents.

Murray grew up in Arizona where her father Dennis was stationed in the Army at Fort Huachuca. Her family returned to Oregon when Murray was nine years old. Though they lived in Beaverton, she and her brother frequently visited their grandparents in Union.

After Murray graduated from Beaverton High School she attended Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She became a high school teacher and worked in Boston Public Schools for three years while she completed her master’s in education from Simmons College.

Soon after she started teaching in international schools in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and Damascus, Syria. While in Syria, Murray became acquainted with diplomats working at the U.S. Embassy and the interaction sparked an interest in pursuing the career herself.

Murray’s first assignment was as a trade officer. She has also served as a visa officer and American citizens services chief. Her next assignment begins in July as consular chief in Banjul, The Gambia in West Africa.

Murray is married to Carlos Jarquin and they have a son, Lucas, who is 15-months old.