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Tom Murray is a rushed, somewhat fidgety guy who might strike you as being scatterbrained. But this DSC student isn't scatterbrained- he's just scattered.

His talents and determination lead him in so many different directions that it wasn't surprising when he rushed off to eat and left his school bag behind.

How does a nineteen-year-old keep himself together when he has a lead role in a play, an eighteen credit hour course load, aspirations to be a doctor and until recently, two jobs?

"I tend to bite off more than I can chew" Murray says. "I'm very scatterbrained but that makes me pay that much more attention."

While Tom's busy life might be a lot like that of many other college students, his skills come in unusual combinations. He spent four years cooking in his father's restaurant and now works as a tutor for Anatomy & Physiology and Trigonometry. He's passionate about acting and even more passionate about bio-medicine. The two seem to be wildly different, but for Tom they both provide him with opportunities to help other people.

Murray took an acting class in 6th grade but didn't actually act on stage until his junior year of high school. His first production was a musical, which he found he did not enjoy. Tom did discover that his acting brought joy to others and that he loved hearing that laughter.

Bringing happiness to others isn't his only motivation. The camaraderie of hanging out with other cast members is a bonus, and in the chaos of theater, Tom found a break from the other chaos in his life. Tom says "With serious stuff, it's therapeutic in a way."

Tom seems determined to determine his other major passion. He graduates from DSC with his Associate of Arts degree in December and will be transferring to the University of South Florida to continue his medical studies.

"My friends think I'm insane and that I need to slow down a little bit," Murray says. He seems to draw a lot of support from the people that are close to him, whether they think he's nuts or not. He attributes his involvement in theater to a long-time friend and current fellow cast member, Mary Jeanes. She is the person who persuaded him to take the stage in and they've worked together ever since.

Another close friend is already attending USF and tries to match Murray's determination and academic success. They would like to open a private medical practice together someday. Tom's biggest inspiration is his father who passed his work ethic to his son and may have let the genie out of the bottle when he taught Tom to put everything he has into the things he does.

For someone so goal oriented, it was only natural to ask what Tom's future goals are. He restated his desire to have a private practice and mentioned that keeping his GPA up is important to him. But then noting that it was opening night for the play, Tom says, "An hour from now, I hope I don't screw up."

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