Stephanie Murphy is the newest addition to Freedom’s family. She teaches in the English department and replaced Sofia Ahmad. Murphy moved here from Lake Placid, New York a few years ago because she hated the cold. “I hate the cold and for a place that gets snow and hits negative temperatures very often, I had to leave,” says Murphy.

Murphy attended the University of Tampa and majored in education. “I decided to become a teacher because I feel the learning goes beyond textbooks and standardized test scores, and that grades do not define a person. I feel every child, regardless of where they come from, deserves the opportunity to be the very best version of themselves that they can be,” says Murphy, “I want them to know that they can achieve anything they put their mind towards, regardless of how difficult things may seem to be at the time, and regardless of what a student’s current GPA is. Most importantly, I know what it is like to be a high schooler and I feel that it is my job to reach out to all my students and help them discover their full potential. Sometimes all it takes knowing someone is rooting for you and someone believes in you.”

During high school, Murphy was involved in many sports. She played throughout her whole high school career, she accumulated four years of varsity soccer, basketball, and softball. “If I had to choose which sport I loved to play the most, it had to be basketball because my coach was a lot like the coach from the movie Coach Carter. He yelled a lot but it helped me tremendously. Also I loved the sport and I had a very close team.”

Other than the sports Murphy played in high school, she is an avid golfer. “I love golfing because it keeps me coming every weekend to try and master it. It’s so challenging to get better and better,” says Murphy.

In her pass time, Murphy finds time to be outside. “I love to play sports, in fact I just love being outside. But other than being outside, I love to go shopping,” said Murphy.

Prior to coming to Freedom, Murphy taught at Plant High School and she also taught in New York. “Teaching in New York is different than teaching here in Florida, New York adopted something called common core while Florida opted out and chose the Florida state standards which is basically the same thing except the standardized testing. In New York, we tested maybe once or twice a year but here in Florida it seems like we test every other week.

If you see a new face in the English department, don’t be afraid to say hello. Give Ms. Murphy a warm welcome to ensure she has a pleasant experience here at Freedom.