Laguna Blanca’s Margaux Murphy shows selflessness on and off the field

One of the qualities Laguna Blanca athletic director and girls volleyball coach Jason Donnelly appreciates about Margaux Murphy is how she deeply cares about others.

Margaux Murphy of Laguna Blanca School.

A great example of Murphy’s caring is the more than 200 hours she’s logged as a member of the National Charity League.

A three-sport athlete at Laguna, Murphy was honored as the school’s recipient of the Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.

“When I think about Margaux, I think about a kid who really wants to learn,” Donnelly said. “She’s willing to do whatever it takes to help her team and help herself; she loves to learn.”

Murphy plays on Donnelly’s volleyball team and plays soccer and beach volleyball for the Owls.

“Margaux is a hard-working student-athlete who puts the team before herself,” said soccer coach Kevin Shertzer, who added that she worked her way into the starting line-up last season and “scored some crucial goals to help secure the league title and win our first-round CIF playoff match.”

The daughter of John and Suzanne Murphy excels in the classroom, maintaining a 3.94 GPA while playing three sports and putting in hours of volunteer work.

In addition to her participation in the NCL, she is the co-president and founder of the International Education Foundation of Tanzania, works with Direct Relief International and is involved in Laguna Blanca’s middle school mentorship program.

“Margaux embodies all the qualities you want in a student athlete: she shows up, she does her job, she cares deeply about others,” Donnelly said. “She loves to learn and she’s a really good person.”