WHRHS Social Studies Teacher Ryan Murray Wins Prestigious Humanitarian Award

The prestigious Jack Zeifman Humanitarian Award has just been awarded to WHRHS Social Studies teacher Ryan Murray. The award is presented to a teacher who has shown three years of outstanding instruction in Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Somerset, Mercer or Burlington counties, and who actively promotes tolerance among schools and communities. The Watchung Hills Regional Education Association is proud to count among its members a teacher as dedicated and dynamic as Ryan Murray. His commitment to the advancement of Holocaust and Genocide Studies has been unwavering since he started teaching the subject two years ago.

The list of Mr. Murray’s achievements is long and varied, including the expansion of the program itself. When he started teaching the Holocaust and Genocide class at Watchung Hills in 2010, there was one section of the class with 14 students enrolled. At present there are now six sections of the class being taught with almost 200 students taking part. Through Mr. Murray’s continuing efforts, these students are exposed to a wealth of knowledge, history and experiences. This year about 160 of his students have gone with Mr. Murray to visit the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City, and last March 13 local holocaust survivor Edward Ganz spoke to his classes. In addition, last February Mr. Ryan took one of his classes to Washington, D.C., where they visited the U.S. Holocaust Museum. This particular class is a new one as Mr. Murray is currently working with Kean University to develop an innovative pilot program whereby Kean offers their Holocaust and Genocide college course ID100 to selected high school students at WHRHS. The class is taught at the honors level and the students receive three college credits upon completion.

However it is not only through social studies classes that Mr. Murray enriches students’ high school experience at Watchung Hills; he has been the driving force behind school-wide initiatives that benefit the entire student body by raising students’ awareness about the world around them and those less fortunate. Last Nov. 18, Ryan Murray brought Jacqueline Murekate, a human rights activist and survivor of the Rwandan Genocide, to speak at Watchung Hills. Ms. Murekatete reached out to students to educate them about the crime of genocide and what they can do to avoid being helpless bystanders. The school raised over $3,400 to donate to Jacqueline’s organization "Miracle Corners of the World" (MCW), which will help fund a community center in Rwanda. Also in November, Mr. Murray arranged for WHRHS to host a traveling museum display on "Rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust" (courtesy of the Jewish foundation of the Righteous).

Taken all together, it is easy to see how Mr. Murray has worked tirelessly to increase genocide awareness and encourage active citizenship amongst students at Watchung Hills. It is also easy to understand why he was chosen for this prestigious award. The Jack Zaifman award is funded by the Zaifman family who will be presenting Mr. Murray with a check for $1,000 to be used toward furthering the promotion of tolerance and/or Holocaust education, along with a classroom set of Mr. Zaifman’s autobiography, “Tailor Made For Life: A Story of Survival During the Nazi Holocaust.” The award will be presented to Mr. Murray at the Yom HaShoah observance (Holocaust Commemoration) on April 22 at the Adath Israel Congregation in Lawrenceville.