Campus is currently mourning the passing of freshman biomedical science (pre-med) major Nasjay Murry of Chicago. Murry was identified as one of two victims fatally shot at an off-campus location early April 8.
The Office of the President announced Murry’s passing to campus members through an email sent out April 8. University President Gary Roberts also said in the email that campus flags would fly at half-staff for three days in Murry’s honor.
“All of us in the Bradley family are deeply affected and are grieving at this senseless tragedy,” Roberts said. “I would like to extend our condolences and deepest sympathy to Nasjay’s family and friends.”
Murry worked hard to complete classwork and to be a dedicated student, according to those who knew her in an academic setting.
“She was ambitious and wanted to make the most of her education,” Naomi Stover, an associate professor of biology and Murry’s advisor, said. “The fall semester can be a tough one, but she wanted to make sure she could still branch out and take lots of interesting classes.”
Stover said even during their brief advising meetings, Murry was enthusiastic to learn and had a shining personality to match.
“She was quiet and shy with me when I met her, but it made my day when we laughed together about some of the things she learned in her first year here,” Stover said.
And for those who knew her outside of academics, Murry was caring and kind, according to Tia Rice, one of Murry’s friends from Chicago. Rice and Murry became friends during their freshman year of high school.
“At first she’s shy, but once she gets to know you, she’s hilarious,” Rice said. “[She was a] great person to be around. Uplifting, funny, smart, wise and humble. [She] stayed out of trouble.”
Rice said that she remembers talking with Murry about her time at Bradley and how hard Murry worked in class.
“She told me about the time she went to Bradley our senior year of high school for a tour, and she [liked] it,” Rice said. “She would tell me about her classes and how challenging they were, but she always maintained a great GPA. She told me about how the squirrels on campus [are] friendly, which was interesting because the squirrels in Chicago are totally different. She was always studying and taking pictures in her room. She looked very happy to be there.”
Murry not only showed her warm personality to friends from home, but also to those she met on campus as well, according to Murry’s Assistant Resident Advisor, Sophia Post.
“She was always very genuine,” Post, a sophomore animation major, said. “She had that smile that was just so honest … There was just something so honest about her. Just seeing her kind of brightened my day.”
Murry’s genuine nature and dedication to her school work is how Rice said she hopes her friend will be memorialized.
“I want everybody to remember her as a smart person who was always there for people,” Rice said. “And she was so funny, [a] hilarious friend.”
It was Murry’s intelligence and compassion that would have helped her go far in a future career, according to Rice.
“She would’ve been a great doctor,” Rice said.
Those wishing to make a donation can do so through the GoFundMe page set up in Murry’s honor at http://www.gofundme.com/for-the-love-of-nasjay-murry.
