Love in Parrington: A conversation with Erin Murphy MPA ’11 and Jon Hickey MPA ’08

The Evans School has helped graduates develop life-long skills, launch careers, and build networks. It’s also helped spark several romances. Erin Murphy MPA ’11 and Jon Hickey MPA ’08 share their memories of meeting at the Evans School and the different career paths they’ve taken.

Was there a Parrington Hall “meet cute” start to your relationship?

Erin: We met at a school dance! The Evans Spring Prom in 2009. Jon was a recent graduate but his prom photo booth was so popular that the student government had brought him back for more photography. I showed up way too early and spotted a guy eating at a table all by himself. I sat across from him and said, “Can I talk to you so I don’t feel awkward?” and the rest is history. There’s no photo of us at that first prom but it took place at the Burke Museum. We made sure to visit with our babies right before the Burke was renovated for old memory sake!

What are some of your fondest moments about your time together while you were at the Evans School?

Erin: I was a concurrent student with the Jackson School and my studies took me to Kenya most summers. Jon came and visited me which was quite the commitment as broke grad students! The vast majority of our dates the first year of our relationship were simply doing homework together.

Jon: When Erin realized I was “The Love Memo” guy, she asked me for help with some videos she was producing from her time in Kenya. We got to know each other while editing together those videos, and I finally got the courage to ask her out to a movie after bringing her some chai at her student office.

Though you both have MPAs, you’ve also had very different career paths. Where did your interests take you after school? What has stuck with you from Evans?

Erin: Since Evans School, I have been in both nonprofit and public sectors. I started in advocacy work and quickly realized good communication was the key to anything being successful. So I pivoted to focus on communications. I use my memo writing skills all the time! I was part of the Seattle – King County Public Health communications team during COVID and have stories to last me multiple lifetimes. Maybe you saw the masking posters around town? I helped develop those – those were Evans skills at work! Some of my most practical skills stem from the frameworks that I learned at Evans. I appreciate how frameworks are a tool for critical thinking and analysis. In my current role at Seattle Children’s as a communications manager, I introduced communication specific frameworks that were integrated into our editorial style guide for more robust guidance around equitable language and content development.

Jon: I graduated in 2008, which was a very difficult time for public sector grads (the great recession was rough on government jobs!). I spent a couple years working for the Department of Global Health, building websites and helping out with content development. By a somewhat random twist of fate, I found a marketing job at Wizards of the Coast, which makes my favorite game ever – Magic: The Gathering. Since then, I’ve worked in various tech and gaming roles. While I ended up in the private sector, my time at Evans was invaluable. My ability to lead teams and clearly communicate my ideas stemmed from Evans (Active voice!). I also use statistics on a daily basis, which I credit to my Evans classes (regression analysis and statistical significance ftw!). No matter where you end up, your Evans education will be a major help!

What’s life like these days? Still writing memos with all your free time?!

Erin: We stayed in Seattle post-graduation but love to travel! We took our six- and eight-year-olds to the Paris Olympics last summer and made amazing memories. Jon still ran track when he was at the Evans School and it was a dream come true for him to be there in person!

Jon: Erin showed me the joys of travel, and now I’m hooked! In addition to what Erin mentioned, I’ve also had an amazing time taking the kids to UW sporting events. We also spend a ton of time outside in our yard landscaping and gardening.

What advice would you give to Evans students today (romantically or otherwise!), particularly amidst a great deal of change, challenge, and uncertainty in our civic and public spaces?

Erin: Different roles are needed and important for influencing change, both inside and outside of systems. Reflect on where your strengths lay and embrace them. I’m grateful that I realized early on that my strengths are contributing to change from within systems. Evans students are needed more than ever today as we will need to rebuild and reinforce our institutions on the other side of whatever is happening now. I’m also a big advocate of setting boundaries, personally and professionally. Practicing boundaries is a muscle that needs to be built to sustain us through hard times.

Jon: There are a million things going on around, and you can’t predict how things will change in the next year (or even the next month!). Focus on what you can control. If you get caught up with the things out of your control, you’ll end up frustrated, bitter, and burned out. By narrowing in on what you control (your own actions, decisions, and how you treat others around you), you’ll have a much more positive impact on what matters most. And if you do that every day, that positive impact you have on those around you will spread and lead to bigger change than can you imagine.