Meet MercerMe: Pennington reporter, Colleen Murphy-DePaolo

Colleen Murphy-DePaolo, a freelance writer, joined MercerMe last year, covering Pennington Borough Council meetings.

A long-time Hopewell Township resident, Colleen moved to Hopewell Borough last year with her two children. She has been a freelance writer for many years publishing with outlets like Medium, Wholistique, and MammaMia. 

Before settling in Hopewell fifteen years ago, she lived in Manhattan and worked for various Wall Street firms. 

Colleen always imagined herself in journalism: “Recently, I came across an old scrapbook I made in middle school. Mixed in with my 80’s memorabilia was an old copy of the class newspaper I had started on my family’s very first Macintosh computer. I realized my dream of working in journalism started a very long time ago.

“In college, I remember feeling a drawn to Wall Street. I was in New York City and it seemed like the entire place was controlled by this one industry. There was something so interesting about figuring out how that world operates. But I had an English professor freshman year who insisted I change my major from Business to English. So I did… and I ended up with a degree in English Literature working on Wall Street anyway. But something always drew me back to writing.”

She continued, “There is something so appealing about working in this industry. The ability to collect and disseminate information so people get the information they truly need is a privilege. MercerMe provides one of the most important outlets for news. What could be more valuable than to have a detailed understanding of the issues affecting the community where you live?

“I spent many years volunteering in the school system and the Hopewell community and have learned so much about what it takes to make great communities run effectively. In Hopewell and Pennington we have the benefits of both an excellent school system and a small town feel. Over the years I have met so many people who contribute to the good of our towns in a variety of ways. It is a pleasure to report on their challenges and accomplishments through MercerMe.”