Rafael Murga

Rafael Murga graduated in summer 2015 with a Bachelor's degree in Public Policy and Administration, along with Cisco certification, and planned to use the degree to pursue a career in technology. He also scored an internship at Tech Data that soon turned into a full-time position. 

"The Exploratory Lab Boot Camp at Tech Data was a great experience," Murga said. "But I never would have stood out at Tech Data and the Exploratory Lab Boot Camp if not for being a Public Policy student at SPC."

Murga choose SPC because of his passion the improving higher education and he knew that working within public policy would be the best way to enact change.

"St. Petersburg College has the only undergraduate policy program that spoke to me, mostly through how comprehensive the curriculum is," he said. "That got me in the door, but it was the mentorship and student-focused culture that kept me at SPC and enabled me to succeed."

Murga also gives some credit for his success to his professor, Jeffery Kronschnabl, for sparking a drive inside of him.  

"He made me realize what a true educator is. He has instilled the fact that what I am doing is truly a calling."

Murga hopes to continue into a more strategic role with Tech Data, and eventually he wants to pay forward what so many educators have done for him by teaching with SPC and continuing the legacy of life-changing experiences the institution has become synonymous with.

"My initial reaction is to say that this program changed the entire direction of my life - but the truth of the matter is that it gave me one," he said.