Making a Difference in the World

Rawnette Murray

Staff Assistant to the Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Labor
Arlington, Va.

How has your Eberly degree contributed to your professional career?
As an undergraduate, I was on a career path geared toward the field of medicine. I earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1993 under a competitive Storer Scholarship, and completed two years at WVU’s School of Medicine as a recipient of the W.E.B. DuBois Fellowship.

But like many, my path took an unexpected turn and I used the research and organizational skills I gained from a broad-based Eberly education and applied it to a career in civil service. Today, I’m staff assistant to the chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Labor, where I work along-side presidential appointees and senior-level executives.

I like to tell people that I push the paper that keeps the government wheel turning. By planning and coordinating the administrative work of the Chief of Staff, I have a unique bird’s eye view of how the government functions.

Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Labor in 2004 as secretary in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM), I worked as staff assistant for Systems Plus, Incorporated, a contractor of the U.S. Department of Labor, as well as the LTS Corporation. Read more...