It’s not every day a student from California enrolls at LVC. So just what brought Tate Murphy ’23, M’25 to The Valley?

The right combination.

“I wanted to go to a college where I could attain a good education in the field I wanted to pursue and play college hockey. However, it was important that I liked the school even if I didn’t play hockey anymore, and LVC fit those criteria. I love that I can be involved in so many different parts of campus through theater, choir, and voice lessons and feel connected to so many people with varied interests,” said Murphy.

Murphy, who played for the San Diego Gulls [now known as the Angels], has helped anchor the Flying Dutchmen defense. She played in 80 games and finished among the team leaders in blocked shots each year while earning academic honors from the Middle Atlantic Conference and United Collegiate Hockey Conference.

While her undergraduate athletic career is complete, Murphy will continue her academics at LVC and earn her doctor of physical therapy degree in May 2025.

“I’ve really enjoyed the classes in our major that correlate directly to hands-on skills in the clinic and our cadaver course during the summer between my junior and senior years. It was an intense class, but it was incredible to go into the lab, physically see what we were learning, and come out with a much more complete understanding of the human body,” she said.

During her first year of clinical placement at Madden & Gilbert Physical Therapy in Hershey, Murphy assisted with patient interviews, creating exercise programs, taking measurements, and assisting patients during their exercises.

Murphy also participated in the Concert Choir and Wig and Buckle Theater Company and took voice lessons. She discovered the joy of choir and theater in high school and carried it right into The Valley. She starred as the lead in the spring play of She Kills Monsters and sang with the LVC orchestra after winning the Concerto Aria competition.

“I performed O Mio Babbino Caro by Giacomo Puccini, which was such a tremendous experience to sing with a live orchestra, especially with my mom flying in from California to hear me perform live for the first time since high school,” said Murphy.

This past March, Murphy completed her half recital that represented a culmination of more than two years of work with her voice instructor, Professor Jonathan Walker VanKuren. A month later, she donned her LVC women’s ice hockey jersey and performed the National Anthem during a Hershey Bears playoff game, realizing a longtime dream of singing at a professional hockey event.