They graduated two years apart, worked in the same office on another campus, and now are colleagues as assistant directors of admissions for Clarion University.
They are Merrilyn Murnyak ('93) and Adam Earnheardt ('95), both of whom, by following different paths, found their way to their career choice in admissions.
Murnyack, originally from Clarence, calls Clarion, "my second home." As a student from 1989-93, she earned a degree in communication, discovered her future profession, found a place as a sorority member and cheerleading captain, and was voted Homecoming Queen during her senior year.
In her new position Murnyack says, "I will be doing a lot of counseling of prospective students, mostly high school juniors and seniors, about majors, degrees, jobs available through degrees, admissions standards, security, housing, campus activities, and campus life in general. I will also be visiting high schools and attending college fairs. I hope to build up a relationship with guidance counselors and prospective students."
Murnyack rejoins Clarion from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford where she worked as an admissions counselor since January 1994. In less than two years she was named assistant director of admissions, aided in the recruitment of the campus' largest freshman class, and helped the campus grow to 1,300 students.
"It was an easy decision for me to decide to come back here," she says. "I loved it here as a student and I have been proud to say I graduated from Clarion."
But all of her Clarion decisions were not as easy, and she will be able to relate quite well to undecided students. "I didn't know what I wanted to do when I got here and was undecided about a major for two years," she says. "I decided on communication and liked the public relations and verbal communications portions of the major. During my senior year I was an intern in the admissions office and decided I liked it. I already had the job at Pitt-Bradford when I graduated in December 1993."
Murnyack also feels she will find it easy to talk about her personal experiences on campus with the prospective students. "I don't know many of the current students," she says. "But, I know and remember enough about campus to relate with and speak to the students."
Murnyack's familiarity with Clarion goes back a long way. Her father, Alex, is a 1964 Clarion graduate, but Merrilyn claims that had nothing to do with her decision to follow his example.
"He allowed me to decide for myself," she recalls. "I only applied to two colleges and I was most familiar with Clarion. I came to Clarion to see baseball playoff game when I was in high school and I loved the location and the area. I had a nice experience each time I came to Clarion and I never made an official visit to campus. After summer orientation I knew this was the right place for me. I was undecided, so the degree choices were not a factor and the cost was realistic and affordable."
Alex and Sandra Murnyack still reside in Clarence and Merrilyn graduated from Bald Eagle Area High School.
Earnheardt spent the past university year as a temporary, full-time counselor in the Office of Admissions, before accepting his new full-time position.
"I have always had an interest in recruiting for higher education," says Earnheardt. "I have had a love for this from the very start."
That start was in Brackenridge, where his parents Merle and Grace still reside. Clarion was one of the universities he applied to when he was a senior at Cheswick Christian Academy, but he decided to go to Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, N.Y. There, as a student volunteer, he visited several high schools in western Pennsylvania to create new student contacts and assisted the dean of admissions with large group visit days, guiding tours and entertaining families.
Following his sophomore year at Roberts Wesleyan, Earnheardt transferred to Clarion. "I felt there was a much better communication program at Clarion," he explained about the decision. "I was playing basketball for Roberts Wesleyan, but I was more concerned about my education."
Clarion helped provide Earnheardt with some additional opportunities. "The internship and professional development opportunities were available at Clarion," he says. "I had an internship with the Office of Admissions and with radio station WDVE in Pittsburgh. These experiences helped to broaden by communication skills and opened my eyes to the real world and how things operate."
He gained additional experiences on campus working for TV-5, the campus television station, and for campus radio stations WCCB and WCUC. He was also a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and Gama Sigma Alpha academic fraternity, while earning a spot on the dean's list.
When Earnheardt received his B.S. in communication degree in 1995, he first worked as a promotion assistant at WDVE radio, where he had completed one of his internships. Five months later he moved on to a job as an admissions counselor/recruiter at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, where he worked for Murnyack.
"I wanted to continue my education," says Earnheardt. "An opportunity to get my masters degree opened at Clarion. I weighed my options, decided I wanted to finish my education, and when I was offered a graduate assistantship in the admissions office I decided to come back to Clarion."
Earnheardt is now a candidate for a master's degree in communication and has a full-time job in admissions.
"I was in the right place at the right time," he says. "The majority of my responsibilities here will be in developing advertising and web pages, skills I learned through Clarion's Writing for Media and Reproduction Graphics classes. I will also travel to high schools for visits, develop marketing strategies for the West Penn Hospital Pittsburgh Site, work with surveys, the student Ambassador program, and retention activities."
Merilyn Murnyak (left) and Adam Earnhardt review admissions information with student Erin Walter