Student Experience
From student, to alumna, to staff member: Tracy Murray reflects on the impact of giving
Tracy Murray (Porter ’94, feminist studies) is the corporate development and alumni career programs manager at UC Santa Cruz. Her giving directly reflects the programs she sees making an impact every day.
Tracy Murray (Porter ’94, feminist studies) is the corporate development and alumni career programs manager at UC Santa Cruz.
Tracy Murray first found her way to UC Santa Cruz as a Porter College student in 1992. Now, as the corporate development and alumni career programs manager, she works across Alumni Engagement and Career Success Departments to connect students to experiences that will shape their futures and to provide professional development opportunities for alumni. That full-circle quality runs through everything she does, including how she gives.
Her current giving spans three programs, each reflecting something she cares about deeply. She supports the Año Nuevo Elephant Seal Program out of a sense of urgent responsibility—avian flu has put these colonies at serious risk, and for Tracy, protecting them is a direct response to a real environmental threat. She gives to The Deep Read because of what it makes possible: a shared intellectual community, access to authors, and what she describes as “the magic of the gift of a book—it’s a tangible bridge between people.”
Tracy also gives to the Career Success Clothing Closet because she has seen what it does for students stepping into interviews and professional settings for the first time.
“Providing students with the professional attire they need to step confidently into their futures,” she says, “is one of the most direct ways we can support student success and equity on campus.”
That last one carries a special significance. The Clothing Closet started as an idea. A generous gift through Giving Day brought it to life, and continued support from staff and alumni has kept it growing. Tracy has watched students embrace it for interviews, LinkedIn photos, and the small but meaningful act of presenting themselves with confidence. Seeing philanthropy move from aspiration to reality in a program she regularly works with has shaped how she thinks about giving.
Tracy gives within what she calls a “circle of influence”—programs close enough to touch, where a contribution of any size produces something real and visible.
“There is something validating and empowering about the message that you don’t have to be wealthy to make a meaningful difference,” she says. When giving feels less like a formal transaction and more like joining something that already matters to you, it has a way of pulling people in.”
To colleagues who are considering making a gift: “We spend so much of our time on this campus, and giving is just a way to have a direct say in the culture we’re building together.”