Like many dads, Alexis Murphy’s father has always been fond of proverbs. When she was growing up, one of his go-to adages was, “Opportunity is more valuable than talent.”
“He explained to me that there are a lot of talented people who don’t get opportunities to be successful,” she elaborates, noting that as a new Hill Learning Center student in her junior year, she immediately recognized her enrollment as an opportunity to open new doors.
She remembers pulling up in the early morning and seeing a wide age range of students playing on the playground and filtering into the building. “I remember wishing I had had the opportunity to go to Hill when I was that young,” she reflects, “because I knew how much of an impact that would have made on me.”
Alexis, known by many as “Murph,” credits Hill’s impact to four specific professionals: Becky Rohn, Kathy Klein, Jennifer Thompson, and Glynis Hill-Chandler.
After moving to North Carolina from Kansas in the summer before eighth grade, Alexis continued to struggle with reading comprehension, content retention, and math skills. Her mother, a devoted advocate for Alexis’ learning, found her way to Becky Rohn, Hill’s long-time math tutor and upper school math teacher. By the middle of her high school career, Alexis realized she would need more intensive math instruction to prepare for college, so her parents enrolled her in Hill Learning Center for the start of her junior year.
Receiving one-on-one instruction in a challenging but supportive small-group environment was a game-changer for Alexis. “It was such a confidence boost to know I had the foundation and skills to learn on my own,” she explains, her smile practically audible through the phone.
In addition to improving her math skills, confidence, and self-advocacy, attending Hill helped Alexis enhance her writing abilities, a skill set she uses on a daily basis in her role as buyer at CarMax in Charlotte. “Having the confidence to sound as good on paper as I know I can when speaking to someone face-to-face” has been one of Alexis’ most valuable takeaways from Kathy Klein’s academic writing class and Jennifer Thompson’s English course. Their structured, scaffolded, patient approach allowed Alexis to learn to identify and organize key information and paraphrase it clearly.
Hill’s impact on Alexis pushed beyond academic learning. Alexis ran track at Apex High School, and during her senior year, she qualified for States. Glynis Hill-Chandler, Hill’s assistant head of school and counselor, cheered her on from the bleachers that day. For Alexis, “the fact that she was there represented everybody in my whole entire journey to that point.” She deeply cherishes that memory and Ms. Hill-Chandler’s support over a decade later.
That day, she earned two personal bests, the 100-meter and the 200-meter, and “everything came together in that moment in time to help me further my dream of running track in college.” She ran track all four years at the University of South Carolina, competing as a short sprinter and jumper. She qualified as Second Team All-American in 2013 and 2014 and advanced to Nationals three separate years.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology in 2016, she worked at her family’s gym for a few years before moving to Charlotte. For the past two years, she has served as CarMax Charlotte’s head buyer, purchasing and assessing all inventory for the bustling location. She loves that the job provides “a new challenge each day” and opportunities to travel.
In reflecting on her time at Hill and drawing on the wisdom of her father, Alexis advises current Hill students to remember that “good things never come easy,” and that in life, everyone’s path is going to be different but that “kindness is the way to people’s hearts.” Her focus on persistence, empathy, and positivity is testament to the long-lasting impact of her experience at Hill Learning Center.