Economics grad honoured for community impact

Scott Murray (BA ‘08) is a tireless champion for his community.

The Economics graduate recently received the 2024 Brock University Alumni Association (BUAA) Community Engagement Award in honour of his commitment to raising awareness and more than $330,000 for youth mental health and pediatric cancer.

Murray is no stranger to community service and has spent much of his time since graduation working to better the lives of people around him. When his son was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, he immediately looked for a way to give back to support other patients and their loved ones.

Through his Bennett the Brave campaign, he raised more than $300,000 in just three weeks — surpassing his starting goal of $110,000 in just two days — to support research and education initiatives at the McMaster Children’s Hospital Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Unit.

Murray credits both his time at Brock and his parents for instilling in him a drive to get involved and have a positive impact on the world around him.

“A big part of what drives me is the goal of leaving everything I touch in a better place than it was prior,” says Murray. “If I could describe Brock using one word it would be ‘community.’ The feeling the campus and its students, staff and administration gives off is a true feeling of warmth, and that everyone is welcome and appreciated for who they are.”

Both of Murray’s parents worked at Brock, so he spent much of his childhood on campus.

“I grew up a Badger. From spending evenings and weekends at the school with my parents to camps in the summer and following the basketball team around, Brock has been a core part of my maturation as a person,” he says. “I chose Brock because it felt like home.”

Murray got involved on campus as soon as he became a student, eventually serving as basketball captain and leading the team to win its second national championship.

This connection to basketball and leadership continued to be a part of how Murray engages with community and he went on to coach the St. Catharines Rebels ETP program team for five years after graduation.

During his time at Brock, Murray also joined RBC as a summer student and has worked there ever since. Currently, he is the Branch Director of RBC’s Dominion Securities office, which manages more than $21 billion in client assets.

Murray’s dedication to helping others has been a significant part of his career. In 2022, he won the RBC Global Citizen Award, which recognizes top RBC employees who have displayed an incredible commitment to giving their time and expertise to their communities by volunteering and leading charitable initiatives.

As a founder of the E for a Tree Campaign — a partnership between RBC Wealth Management, the RBC Foundation and Tree Canada — Murray has played a critical role in the planting of more than 100,000 trees in Canada.

Nominations for Brock’s 2025 alumni awards are being accepted on the Alumni Relations website until Friday, Feb. 21.


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