Abigail Miner/The LanternLiz Murray, whose story served as the inspiration for the Lifetime film “Homeless to Harvard,” speaks on the importance of perseverance in her pursuit of education as a homeless youth in the Bronx.
Liz Murray was born to two drug-addicted parents in the Bronx, New York and grew up in a community that was emblematic of urban culture filled with drugs, gangs and violence.
“My sister Lisa and I grew up watching my parents get high,” Murray said. “After we got our welfare checks, all four of us would go to the local drug spot.”
Murray said that although she knew that her parents’ drug use was problematic, their habits taught her essential life lessons.
“My sister and I learned to survive because they taught us crisis management,” Murray said. “When they ran out of drugs they would sell the television, my sister’s coat and even the frozen Thanksgiving turkey.”
Murray and her sister survived by knocking on neighbors’ doors for food and relying on each other to find food in dumpsters when their neighbors could not afford to feed them.
“I didn’t get that this was supposed to be tragic,” Murray said. “It seemed like an adventure. We ate something different every night.”
After Murray’s mother was hospitalized, Murray became homeless at the age of 16.
“I know many people have many positive experiences in child welfare; I had very negative experiences,” Murray said. “It was very easy to lose trust in the system.”
Murray said the turning point in her life was the loss of her mother to complications from AIDS.
“When my mother passed away, it was never so clear to me what I had to do,” Murray said. “It was my wake-up call.”
After being rejected from many New York City high schools, Murray was accepted to Humanities Preparatory Academy and earned her high school degree in two years with a strong “A” average, while being homeless.
Murray said she had the opportunity to visit Harvard University’s campus during a school trip and was encouraged to apply by her high school mentor.
Murray was accepted to Harvard and was assisted financially by a competitive New York Times scholarship.
“The first time I saw [Murray’s] story, I cried,” said Angela Lariviere, youth empowerment director at the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. “I was homeless during my youth. The movie was deeply personal.”
Murray said she was surprised to learn that Lifetime was interested in creating a movie about her life.
“I didn’t feel as though I had anything to share with people,” Murray said. “To me, it was just my life. Then I started to realize that there is something to learn from one person’s experience.”
Benjamin Powell, a freshman in psychology, said although he had not seen the film, he was moved by Murray’s ability to turn a negative childhood experience into something positive.
“She has been given such a unique opportunity,” Powell said. “She is able to do something she loves and change lives.”
The event was co-sponsored by the Economic Access Initiative in Academic Affairs, the College of Social Work and the University Honors and Scholars Program.
Amber Phelps can be reached at [email protected]
