New hire in admissions has experience in corporate role, college counseling.

New Assistant Director of Admissions Ms. Lea Murtaugh has found her niche in life.

Growing up, Murtaugh went to Penncrest High School and graduated in 2003. From there however, she did not know where her life would take her.

“I didn’t know where I was going to go or where I was going to apply, if I wanted to live away… So I talked with my mom about it and decided I would enroll in Delaware County [Community College],” Murtaugh said.

Murtaugh was a first-generation college student in her family, so she was charting a new path. After DCCC, she transferred her Associate’s Degree to go to Penn State Brandywine, a satellite campus.

“They took a lot of my credits from Delaware County, it was an equally easy commute, so that’s why I opted for that,” Murtaugh said. “I didn’t pick [Penn State Brandywine] for any passionate reason, but it worked out well.”

Penn State Brandywine was a good commute for Murtaugh since she lived in her hometown of Media. She wanted to be involved on campus, but she was also working another job on the side. She graduated Penn State Brandywine in December of 2008, getting her Bachelor’s in Human Development and Family Studies.

“After that, I was pretty lucky because I got a pretty competitive internship at SAP,” Murtaugh said. “It was almost a year and a half I was there as an intern.”

Murtaugh learned a lot at SAP. She described SAP as a pretty “corporate” job, and she realized that she did not want to work in that type of role.

“So, I left and enrolled in a graduate program at West Chester University in Counseling Psychology with hopes of getting into education in some type of counseling position,” Murtaugh said.

She graduated West Chester in 2011. Next, she worked for a few other companies until she got a job as a Senior Admissions Counselor at Rosemont College in October 2014.

Murtaugh worked primarily with first-generation students, which she could relate to since she was in their shoes before.

“I really liked working with students who were coming in for the first time and aren’t as familiar with the college process, like the oldest student who has never been on a college visit, who has never met with an admissions counselor, and who is a novice to the college process,” Murtaugh said.

She worked there for three full recruitment years until the job at Malvern opened up.

“I don’t want to say [the application process] was easy, but it wasn’t too complicated,” she said.

Her job involves working with prospective high school students on their application, giving tours, and representing Malvern at high school fairs.

“I’ll be the liaison to the family that’s applying, representing Malvern and just being the point of contact for the family to complete the application,” Murtaugh said.

Murtaugh plans to get involved in an extracurricular activity on campus once she gets comfortable in her new position. “I would love to get involved with overseeing a club or a sport down the road,” she said.

Murtaugh currently lives in Narberth with her boyfriend and her cat. She enjoys staying active as she runs 5k races and teaches Crossfit at Main Line Crossfit in Ardmore, PA.

She is ready for all the students to come back to school and for the year to start. “I’m really excited to be here and happy for what the year holds,” Murtaugh said.