Who We Are

Matthew Murphy completed his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a concentration on Secondary Education at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and later earned his Professional Educator’s License for the state of Indiana at Taylor University.

Mr. Murphy attended UNLV on a full-ride scholarship for football where he won the school’s football Outstanding Character Award after his junior season and was the program’s 2010 nominee for the AFCA Good Works Team. Matt earned a spot on the Dean’s Honor List in spring 2009 and took home Academic All-MWC honors for three straight seasons.

Matt finished his collegiate career playing at UNLV in 2010 and signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent. In September of 2011, he was signed to the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad and was then claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals in May of 2012. After completing his NFL career, Matt coached football at Indiana State University for four seasons.

With the birth of his first child, Matt transitioned from coaching at the collegiate level and began his high school teaching career in January of 2016. Over the past six years, Matt has taught six different courses within the Mathematics Department and has been evaluated as a highly effective teacher each year. Along with teaching, Matt has devoted time to coaching and serving in church ministry. From coaching football and track to leading a high school youth group, Matt has enjoyed every opportunity to mentor and lead others through the building of relationships.

After spending the past 10 years in Indiana, Matt and his wife Jessica decided to come back to their hometown of Lake Forest. Matt and Jessica have 4 kids, Piper (6), Benson (5), Macie (3), and Bo (born 6/23/2021). Matt loves spending time with his family, serving in the church, feeding the people he loves, being a dad, and spending time outside. He is extremely excited about this new venture at Pacifica as he gets to combine his passions of mentoring students and teaching math.

Credentials

B.S. Mathematics — University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Professional Educator’s License for Mathematics — Taylor University