Eno ’14 proposes to girlfriend on WERS

Ben Eno '14 proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Marian Murphy, on the air on WERS on December 12 as he worked his final DJ shift. (Courtesy Photo)

Love was in the air—and on the air!—at WERS-FM (88.9) on Friday, December 12, when student DJ Benjamin Eno ’14 popped the question to his longtime girlfriend, Marian Murphy.

Eno, who has been involved with radio since high school, had joked to Murphy that he might propose on the air.

“I had no idea he actually would,” Murphy said. “I thought he was joking.”

Eno was helping WERS with its Community Service Fundraiser to benefit Rosie’s Place when he asked Murphy to marry him at about 11:15 am on December 12—after getting the blessing of WERS general manager Jack Casey.

“I was feeling excited and anxious all at the same time,” Eno said.

Eno had texted Murphy minutes before, telling her to listen to WERS. Murphy, who works as a nanny, was driving around three children, “who were all screaming,” she said, when she turned up the volume and began recording the broadcast with her smartphone.

“I started crying a little,” she said. “The kids had no idea what was going on.”

Murphy immediately called back Eno to tell him “yes.”

Eno, a Visual and Media Arts major graduating this month, said the day of his proposal marked his final on-air shift for WERS.

“I thought I might as well go out with a bang,” he said.

The 22-year-old, from Woonsocket, Rhode Island, has been commuting to Emerson since he transferred from a community college his junior year.

“I’ve held down multiple jobs,” Eno said. “Going to community college is what pushed me to get myself and my life together. We’ve wanted to get our life started for a while, but we waited because we weren’t mature enough. We’re mature enough now.”

The couple has been dating for nearly five years—as high school sweethearts who met at Mt. St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island.

“When you know, you know,” Murphy said. “He’s such a great man and will be a wonderful husband. I’ve known for a really long time that he’s the one for me.”