W&M alumna becomes 1st Vietnamese-American congresswoman
William & Mary alumna Stephanie Murphy ’00 has become the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to Congress, according to an NBC News article.
Murphy, a Democrat, won Florida’s 7th Congressional District in Tuesday’s election, beating 23-year incumbent John Mica.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you Florida for the faith you have placed in me. I'm incredibly honored, and I will make you proud,” Murphy tweeted Tuesday evening.
The daughter of Vietnamese refugees, Murphy was the first woman in her family to attend college, according to the NBC News article. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at William & Mary and a master’s in foreign service at Georgetown University.
According to her campaign website, Murphy is an instructor at Rollins College and an executive with Sungate Capital in charge of investment efforts and government affairs initiatives. She previously worked as a national security specialist in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense and, before that, as a strategy consultant with Deloitte Consulting.