LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Leticia Mullen was nominated anonymously.

Ms. Mullen fosters a positive classroom environment by building strong relationships with her students, taking the time to get to know each individual and their unique interests. She wants students to feel like she cares about them beyond their grades. More importantly, Ms. Mullen is determined to show students how science is not just for "nerds" but for everyone, every day.

She designs all her curriculum with connections to everyday life as the priority. Ms. Mullen selects themes for units/courses that align with students' existing interests and consistently applies a real-life filter to all activities/lessons/projects. She asks herself, "Does the average person benefit from understanding this?" and "How does this apply to everyday life?".

Many of her students start the year telling her that they dislike science or struggle with it. They finish the year telling her how her classes are their favorites and how much they've learned. They talk about the awesome connections between the curriculum and their daily lives that Ms. Mullen hadn't even considered. Turning kids on to science is her teacher superpower, and she's really proud of that.

Ms. Mullen has switched high schools within her district for the upcoming school year, from a well-stocked science department to her district's alternative high school for at-risk students, which has fewer available resources. Ms. Mullen is excited about the opportunity to engage her new students with a real-life applicable science curriculum at what, for many students, is the only school standing between them and dropping out of high school.