Scientific researcher by day and champion diver at night. This Northeastern athlete leads dual lives - Northeastern University College of Science

By day Erin Murphy was outfitted with personal protective equipment in a biotech wet lab as she explores potential remedies for infectious diseases. At night the Northeastern junior was back on campus diving with her Husky teammates in pursuit of a conference championship.When exhaustion chased her to bed, Murphy reminded herself this is why she chose Northeastern. The reigning Coastal Athletic Association diver of the year is pursuing degrees in both biochemistry (undergraduate) and biotechnology (master’s). For the past six months, of course, that academic work was on hold during her co-op as a scientific researcher at BioNTech SE in Cambridge, Massachusetts, across the Charles River from Northeastern’s Boston campus.

“This is the hardest thing I’ll probably ever do in my life,” Murphy said while she was balancing full-time work with competitive diving practices in the evenings and meets on weekends. “Some nights I don’t even go on my phone. I just crawl into bed and knock out.”