Shanae Murray

I am one of the lead cooks for several schools throughout the building. I have been here since 2018 and I enjoy my job. There's a lot of running around going up, down, side to side, dealing with different kid personalities, along with employee personalities. It is an interesting workplace, very interesting. I’m bubbly, very compassionate and I’m friendly. I will talk to you about anything. I will give you a hug if you want one. One of my favorite memories in the building is approaching a kid that I felt was lonely. He ate lunch alone every day, and after I sat with him, he now has friends. I just love people… absolutely love people.

Moving to Delaware was a spontaneous move for me. I am a very spontaneous person. I am originally from Elizabeth, New Jersey, it’s close to New York. I moved to Delaware in 2010 with my son. He was two years old at the time. This was the second spontaneous move that I've done in my life. The first one was to Albany, Georgia, when I was 18 years old. I ran away from home. Believe it or not, I wanted to stay there, but I came back for my family after a few years. Today, my son is 15 years old, and he graduates this year. I also have a 3-year-old son, he is nonverbal, but he says a couple of things. He is in speech therapy, so he will be there in a minute. My kids are one of the main joys in my life. 

I love dancing. I'm a very good dancer. I actually wanted to do choreography so if you see me anywhere, I would most likely be dancing. I have been dancing since I was about 10 years old. I won several dance contests. Besides dancing, one of my greatest accomplishments is graduating high school. Nobody in my family had graduated from high school before, so it is one of the biggest accomplishments in my life thus far.  

Interview by Christina Jourdan and Edward Robinson, spring 2023