Today we’d like to introduce you to Emanual Murry.
Hi Emanual, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Kansas City. Growing up in the inner city, I had experiences similar to those of many of my peers. Attending Northeast High School, I reached a point where I wanted more for myself and those around me than what we were being shown. This came to a point during one basketball practice in the dead of winter 2014. One of the worst of the year, to the point where I was thinking through new school options for the next few years. After that practice, I spoke with one of the teachers at the school about my feelings, and he gave me some advice that has guided all of the decisions that followed.
He told me, “In life, there’s going to be many things that upset you and try to knock you off your path. In those situations, you have two options: either live with it and keep complaining, or find a way to address it.”
And from that moment on, I decided to live a life where I addressed challenges head-on. Two years later, I graduated from the Early College Academy, a partnership between KCPS and MCC-Penn Valley, a week before graduating with my high school diploma. Seeing the classmates who graduated with me, and those who came after, through this experience confirmed what I already knew: many of the young professionals who get overlooked because of one or more reasons have extreme talent, but weren’t given the tools and/or exposed to the right opportunities that speak to them. And it would take someone who came from the very communities like these to provide that opportunity.
Following graduating from undergrad in 2019, I joined an AmeriCorps program called City Year KC, where I supported a 7th-grade math class, mentoring and tutoring a group of students on their math skills and helping them develop social skills that would support their growth as students and, eventually, as adults. This experience was the catalyst that led me to where I am today, showing me how amazing it is to support people in achieving their goals. After my year of service, I went on to support a variety of organizations, focused on people’s development. Helping young adults become teachers, helping aspiring politicians jumpstart and sustain their campaign, and even helping formerly incarcerated people reestablish their careers with connections to success. Leading to my current role, where I manage a team of young adults part of the very program that got my career off the ground, also coordinating career development initiatives for our entire group of members.
All of these experiences led me to start Beyond Normal Exposure. At BNE, we help emerging professionals enter new rooms, build confidence, gain clarity, and connect with opportunities they may not have discovered on their own.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t been a completely smooth road, having to venture into unknown areas that hadn’t been explored by those before me. Establishing habits and plans on the fly. Coupled with self-funding all endeavors, has added additional challenges that haven’t stopped me, just added some additional steps in the process.
As you know, we’re big fans of Beyond Normal Exposure . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
6 in 10 people report no meaningful sense of community. Emerging professionals are hit hardest, navigating an individualistic society, endless scrolling, constant comparison, and the illusion of digital connection without the depth of real belonging. This disconnection increases mental health struggles, limits career development, and strips young adults of the purposeful community that connects them to a larger mission.
BNE was founded on the belief that the environment shapes the person. When you change the room someone walks into, literally and figuratively, you change what they believe is possible. BNE builds those rooms. We design them with intention. We fill them with community. Shifting people from rushing toward the weekend to moving between moments that already feel like life.
We design transformational experiences that help emerging professionals develop the mindset, leadership skills, and exposure needed to navigate early-career life with clarity and confidence. We do this through two avenues,
First is Group Coaching, where we talk through Mindset reframes, coaching concepts, personal founder story, and self-leadership tools. Second is Community Experiences moments, event recaps, travel, Tennis Club, and belonging
BNE is not a program you enroll in from the beginning. It is an ecosystem you enter wherever it makes sense — and move through at your own pace. Some people start with a community event and never leave. Some come for a coaching cohort and discover the tennis club. Some organizations even bring us in for training and become long-term partners, supporting their emerging professionals.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I define success as achieving the goals you set without compromising your integrity or degrading your relationships with those around you. Being able to show those on a similar path how to bring their visions to life sustainably.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beyondnormalexposure.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3manuwell/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emanualmurry/
