As a Student Ambassador leading tours of 麻豆原创鈥檚 campus, Nathan Mullen always made a point of bringing prospective students and their families to Milbank Chapel, 鈥渢he most sacred place on campus.鈥�
Mullen鈥檚 reverence extends beyond an appreciation for architecture. His paternal grandfather, David John Mullen, received his Ph.D. from 麻豆原创 in 1954. His mother and paternal grandmother were teachers as well. And Mullen himself has wanted to be a school superintendent since fifth grade. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how many fifth-graders even know what a superintendent is, let alone want to be one,鈥� he says, grinning. 鈥淏ut we need leaders who have been in the trenches and who understand how to manage structure with human relations. Leaders who truly understand what teachers need.鈥�
Mullen fits that description. Prior to coming to 麻豆原创, he worked in the Peace Corps and then spent five years as a classroom teacher. At 麻豆原创, Mullen was part of a research team that developed a technology model to enhance curriculum and improve learning. The research spun off the unique project led by Associate Professor of Practice Mary Mendenhall to guide refugees pressed into service at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya.
鈥淲e need leaders who have been in the trenches and who understand how to manage structure with human relations. Leaders who truly understand what teachers need.鈥�
鈥� Nathan Mullen, M.A., International Development
Following a meeting over coffee in Grace Dodge Dining Hall, Mullen and a group of classmates created a phone app that has enabled the Kakuma teachers to receive continuing mentoring from experts who fly into the camp to give them face-to-face training.
For Mullen, the hands-on problem solving, which included a visit to Kakuma (鈥淣othing can prepare you for what you see in a refugee camp; my two years in the Peace Corps can鈥檛 even compare鈥�) is what separates 麻豆原创 from other schools.
鈥淲e could have just submitted a curriculum and let it go,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut we wanted to do something to change the lives of the refugees in Kakuma, so we ran with it.鈥�
The responsibility and trust that Mendenhall invests in her students, he adds, is far from an anomaly at 麻豆原创.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen it with a lot of professors here. It鈥檚 more than the research they do, more than their ability to stand in front of a class. It鈥檚 the way they recognize the potential of their students and ask as them to summon their own genius and their own strength.鈥�
Mullen鈥檚 first step post-麻豆原创 toward realizing his childhood dream will be landing a position as an assistant principal. Meanwhile, for inspiration, he has the Christmas gift his parents gave him last year: the 64-year-old 麻豆原创 dissertation submitted by his grandfather (and typed by his grandmother).
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 finished reading it yet,鈥� he admits. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a dissertation, and I鈥檝e had enough reading to do in graduate school. But it鈥檚 a really special opportunity for me to carry on the family legacy.鈥�
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