Mr. Mulry: Retired, but not Forgotten

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Edan Larkin

Mr. Mulry smiles at the desk he’s spent plenty of time at over the course of his career.

Edan Larkin, Contributing Writer

Mr. Mulry has been a valued memeber of the Spanish department here at Hingham High School for thirty years. In total, he has been teaching for thirty­five years; before HHS, he taught at Winthrop for one year, and Catholic Memorial for four years.

Although Mr. Mulry loves his job now, his original plan wasn’t to be a teacher. In fact, when he got to college, he hadn’t even known he was going to major in Spanish yet. He ended up deciding to major in Spanish because he was good at it. Mr. Mulry mentioned how people would actually come to him in the morning before his classes and ask him for help with Spanish because of how good he was.

Mr. Mulry was fully aware that there weren’t many available career options involved with a Spanish major aside from teaching when he decided on a Spanish major. So, to make sure that he could get employed, he took education courses as well. Fortunately, Mr. Mulry ended up really enjoying the courses. “I started in­­ and… I started in journalism,” he told me with a laugh. “But that lasted about a month. I didn’t like it because you had to do what they told you to do… I more enjoy creative writing,” he revealed.

When it came down to it, he knew he had to figure out what he wanted to do. Therefore, he thought it over: he was good at Spanish, he liked it, and he loved to travel. He knew then that a Spanish major was the perfect choice. Fast forward, and Mr. Mulry’s career has been a long one that he’s loved.

When asked about the highlights of his career, he couldn’t pick out any specific event because he’s thoroughly appreciated all of his time here. But, in general, he’d have to say that the kids are the best part of his career. He spoke passionately about all of the great students he’s come across while on the job. He said that they were good thirty years ago, and they’re good now. “They’re even better today,” he added playfully.

As he spoke about his students, he seemed to remember another happy moment in his career. He said that his own children, his daughter and his son, were allowed to come to the high school, and he loved being able to see them at work. The highlights of his career are also what make his leaving so sad. He admires all the kids he’s been able to influence over the past thirty-­five years, and he knows he’s going miss them. He knows he’ll miss the everyday interactions he has with his students or his co­-workers. Mr. Mulry adores the staff here at HHS ­­he’s going to miss them plenty as well.

As for his retirement, Mr. Mulry has no immediate plans. He acknowledges that he wants to work, he just isn’t entirely sure about what he would like to do. He dreams of taking vacations at times he was never able to take them before, like in September or March. He isn’t fully certain about his future, but he is positive that he desires to do something that interests him and that he can do part-time, preferably fifteen to twenty hours a week.

Mr. Mulry mentioned that he loves working one­-on­-one with students, specifically tutoring in Spanish, so he thinks he’ll do something like that. “And I’ll be around, I’ll come around and say, ‘hi’ to everybody,” he assured. “I know I’ll really miss them. I know [my retirement] will really hit me in September.”

Mr. Mulry’s energy and excitement in the classroom is infectious; when he shows enthusiasm toward a lesson, his students feel it too. Leah O’Rourke, a freshman, is going to miss this about him. She passionately described Mr. Mulry as a great person who could always lighten the mood during a lesson with jokes or stories that made the class more interesting. O’Rourke also emphasized how funny Mr. Mulry is, and how he never fails to make her or her classmates laugh. She mentioned Mr. Mulry’s fairness as a teacher and grader as well, and how he very much understands how to help students individually, because no student learns in the same way. “I’m going to miss him because he was just a nice, personable teacher that connected with his students,” O’Rourke admitted with a smile on her face.

Mr. Mulry poses with his G block class. Freshamn Leah O’Rourke stands to his immediate right.
Edan Larkin
Mr. Mulry poses with his G block class. Freshamn Leah O’Rourke stands to his immediate right.

It is clear that Mr. Mulry is loved here at Hingham High School, and although everyone is happy for him and what retirment has in store for him, he will be missed. Good luck to you, Mr. Mulry!