U.S. Army veteran Seamus Murphy to other transitioning veterans: “DO NOT accept the status quo.”
U.S. Army veteran Seamus Murphy speaks of a myth surrounding the military and civilian worlds: enlisted service members are destined to fail upon exiting the service. It’s a myth to which he refuses to subscribe — and one he’s personally working to dismantle.
Murphy’s transition story begins with the “culture shock of entering academia” after six years of service in the infantry. Despite the shock, Murphy’s military and academic prowess led to his acceptance at Cornell University, where he’d go on to earn a degree in International Agriculture and Rural Development. Outside of the classroom, Murphy was a member of multiple Veteran-focused groups on campus, including the Ivy League Veterans Council and the Cornell University Veterans Working Panel. He also founded the Cornell Undergraduate Veterans Association, which provides “useful connections for Veterans attending and/or applying to Cornell’s seven undergraduate colleges and schools.”
Murphy’s proactivity is reflected in the advice he gives to other transitioning veterans. He tells them to “utilize of all the resources available and DO NOT accept the status quo.”
During the early years of his transition, the Army veteran wisely put this advice into practice, as evidenced by his involvement with various on-campus groups. Furthermore, Murphy made the decision to attend FourBlock’s Career Readiness Program, a free, semester-long course designed to prepare transitioning Veterans for success in civilian careers.
Murphy says the program helped dispel the aforementioned myth by exposing him “to successful enlisted veterans.” Murphy says he also learned how to develop his personal brand, effectively communicate his military experience, expand his professional network, hone his business acumen, and discover the “subtleties of correspondence,” which would ultimately prove crucial in his pursuit of earning meaningful, long-term employment.
With his vast military, academic, and extracurricular experience, Murphy landed a job with Accenture upon graduating from Cornell. He currently serves as a consulting analyst for the firm, where he’s part of a “high-performance team filled with self-driven, intelligent colleagues.”
Murphy’s participation in various groups at Cornell, which was done while balancing an Ivy League curriculum, highlights his willingness and desire to assist his fellow veterans. And even now, despite holding a full-time job, he’s not done giving back.
Alongside two fellow Cornell alumni, Murphy started his own non-profit, Big Red Vets, Inc., to support Veteran and ROTC students at Cornell. Big Red Vets exists to further Cornell University’s Land Grant mission by supporting its ROTC programs and Veteran students.
You can learn more about Murphy’s foundation by visiting BigRedVets.org.