A scholarship with merit

POLSON – Connor Murphy, 17 is one of the lucky ones.

Though his young life is scarred with tragedy, Connor enjoys an adventurous youth rich with the texture of God, family, home and blessing.

Murphy, who lives a mile from Flathead Lake’s untarnished shore, lives at the end of a long road, past the place where the weeds grow in the middle.

He drives his car down the switchbacks and small hills daily to go to Kalispell Community College for advanced science and math classes.

When Connor is home, he can stand on his patio and enjoy a 180-degree view of the mountains and lake before him.

Or he can focus on home, a 20-acre fenced property decorated with a garden and orchard, a kids zip line, a giant trampoline, a fireman’s pole and the science lab where his dad, who died when Connor was a toddler, spent countless hours thinking, creating and changing the world.

To Connor and his family, dad is all around.

Well before Connor was born, his father and a few friends chopped, stripped and prepared every tree it took to hand build a majestic sprawling log home perched on the mountainside.

Connor is a chip off the old block.

Well adept at math and science, the life-time homeschool student is a high school senior and National Merit Scholarship semi-finalist, who spends part of every day “researching,” just like his father, Jack, who held a Phd in analytical chemistry.

Connor’s interest lies in emerging alternative fuel sources.

A project of the Kalispell Community College Science Department, Connor’s work is exploring different ways to reduce aluminum’s corrosion rate.

Scientists know that aluminum-powered batteries possess the potential to become a viable future alternative source.

If awarded the National Merit Scholarship, Connor plans to take his love for chemistry to Grove City College in Pennsylvania.

Last year, in between a heavy school schedule, sports and his summer-long Christian camp job, Connor and his brother-in-law Jason Edwards traveled to the campus.

“They have a really good physics program, rigorous academics and the professors are good at helping students,” Connor said.

Edwards is an important part of Connor’s life.

“He’s helped me so much.

I couldn’t have done it without him,” Connor said.

Growing up, Connor shared in the tragedy and triumph of his family.

Connor, who is the 12th of 13 children, lives with his mom, younger sister, Shannon, his oldest sister, Jessica, her husband Jason and their four children; Kitty, 10, Riley, 8, Jack, 6, and Avery, 4.

The rest of his siblings; Jessica, Rachel, Romalie, Havilah, Bethany, Melissa, George, Josiah, Katrina and Jemima reside elsewhere.

Connor has one sister, who died as a baby and is in Heaven with her father.

Connor said early in his education, his day began with morning chores, family breakfast, singing and worship time with the family and then academics.

As he aged, however, Connor found additional academic help from neighbors and friends.

Neighbor Connie Doty tutored Connor for years in math.

Friend and former Mission Valley Christian Academy teacher Josh Hicks was instrumental in assisting Connor learn American and Greek literature.

The biggest change in Connor’s life occurred during his eighth-grade year when Connor struggled with playing soccer at Mission Valley Christian Academy, he said.

“I was on the soccer team and was having a hard time with conditioning and playing and that sort of thing.

I wanted to quit, but my mom (Ann Murphy) asked me to (stay on the team.)”

Even though Connor did not want to continue playing soccer, he took his mother’s advice seriously.

Connor said that night he had a serious talk with God.

“I said ‘I don’t want to be able to do this without your help,’” Connor said.

“And then I went back to play soccer and it was much more fun.

It shaped how I did things for the rest of my life.

I made (that relationship) personal then.”

From that moment forward, Connor shared a deeper closeness with his creator, and Connor’s walk with God would propel him through every bump in his future.

“If I’m not doing it for God, I’m not going to do it,” he said.

Last summer, Connor said he faced an interesting life challenge when assigned to oversee a mentally-challenged Christian camp participant.

It was taxing in that it was a 24-7 constant watch and I got tired,” Connor said.

But this camper required that kind of attention because he had a habit of wandering off.

But the celebration and lesson in Connor’s experience was huge.

“I have no regrets.

It was a joy,” Connor said.

“They give you so much back in what they teach you about how to love people, that it will effect me for the rest of my life.”

Connor said that when he goes off to college, wherever it might be, he will miss his family.

But before Connor can go to college, he has to get funded; and his next step in the National Merit Scholarship Award process is a lengthy application process, something that he’s working on in between school, his scientific research, suicide jumps on the family trampoline and praising the Lord for the bounty and trials behind and before him.