Accounting Alumna Reciprocates Generosity with University Scholarships

When Sabria Thompson-Murphy ’18,’ 21 was preparing to enter her senior year of the bachelor’s degree program in accounting, her parents called to say that the money for her education had run out. They just couldn’t see how they would be able to cover all the expenses needed for her final year of studies at University Campus.

Thankfully, a generous donor from her hometown in the Bahamas stepped up to help. He realized her potential and took out a loan to help make her goals possible.

“When I came here, I struggled with funding,” Thompson-Murphy said. “There are many extra expenses you have to take into consideration as an international student.”

After completing her bachelor’s degree, Thompson-Murphy began working at the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in Tampa, FL, while pursuing a master’s degree in accounting at Saint Leo. For more than five years, she worked in the accounting field and now is a business owner.

The generosity and kindness she experienced from the Saint Leo community remained with her following graduation. She remembers the staff and alumni who helped international students have a positive university experience, checking in on them from time-to-time and taking them out for grocery store runs because they didn’t have a car. 

She also valued and greatly appreciated the accounting faculty who supported her. She kept in touch with them following graduation.

On one visit to campus, Thompson-Murphy met with Dr. Daniel Tschopp, chair of the accounting, economics, and finance department and professor of accounting, who told her about the ways alumni were supporting the program.

“He told me another graduate gave funds for a scholarship,” Thompson-Murphy said. “I thought to myself, ‘I can do that.’”

This past year, Thompson-Murphy established two scholarships to help support Bahamian business and accounting students at University Campus: the Sabria Murphy Scholarship, which awards $3,000, and the Sabria and Bruce Murphy Scholarship, awarding $2,000. 

Thompson-Murphy recently visited University Campus to present two College of Business students with their awards. Adrienne Williams ’26 is the recipient of the Sabria Murphy Scholarship, and Madison Wilson ’26 is the recipient of the Sabria and Bruce Murphy Scholarship.

“This scholarship has raised a burden off my shoulders, and it’s really good to know that it came from someone who is where I am from,” said Wilson.

Williams also agrees. She has been looking for scholarships without much success. “It literally is an answered prayer because I have been trying to find scholarships for years.”