“He teaches with enthusiasm and is always smiling,” says Meaghan Connelly, a freshman in one of Michael Mulry’s classes. Connelly says she loves class because of the positive energy present in the classroom. She also says Spanish is her favorite class of the day, and she loves how Mulry always smiles and is excited about his curriculum.

Mulry has been a Spanish teacher for 29 years, after he majored in Spanish at Suffolk University. Mulry realized he was going to be teacher some day when he began looking into jobs available for a Spanish major. He laughed as he said there were no other jobs he could take besides a teacher because there was much less international trade at that time.

Mulry grew up in Jamaica Plain with his parents and brother. As a child he used to read the magazine Boys’ Life, which was mostly about scouting and outdoor activities. Once he tried to order a catalog about animals from the magazine company. When Mulry got home from school one day, his father told him a package arrived with his name on it. His father said it seemed to be a live animal. Mulry insisted it was just a catalog, but when he opened the box there was a baby alligator inside. He raised it for a year in the bathroom.

Today Mulry lives with his wife, Lorie, and a few pets. Along with some typical house pets, the Mulrys have two ducks that his daughter asked him to care for when she found two ducklings without a mother. Mulry says his wife is the most influential person in his life. “She taught me how to be a great father, and she always has faith in me and encourages me to do great things.”

When asked what he thinks he’ll be doing in the next five years, Mulry was stumped. After a few minutes of thought, he finally answered with, “I don’t know. I’m the old guy around here. I’m not sure what will come up in the next five years.” However, he plans on staying at Hingham High School for a long time.