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Oct 28
Mikki Mullen
APS Teacher of the Gifted
ABQ High School
BLISS Buddies program
As the BLISS (Bettering Lives In Small Steps) sponsor, Michelle continues the BLISS Book Buddies program, connecting high school students with Title I elementary students in our district with engaging picture books. The goals are to encourage literacy, appreciation, voice, and pride. Many of the classrooms are bilingual, as are the books, which celebrate the dual language benefit for all students. Michelle’s passion is communicated through her dedication to the love of teaching, and she hopes students feel empowered in their educational journey to be lifelong learners—open to new, enriching experiences as they discover their path—with, perhaps, a nudge or two from her influence.
Michelle Mullen, a current teacher at Albuquerque High School from which she graduated, has been teaching in public education for 25 years. She graduated with distinction from the University of New Mexico, earning a Masters degree and has been instrumental promoting the need for a strong educational foundation for all students. She has received several recognitions in her career, including Teacher of the Month while teaching English at LBJ Middle School. Michelle began her career at Newcomb, New Mexico as an alternative teacher on the Navajo Nation, growing through the culture and recognizing the educational uniqueness of our state. She prides herself on student advocacy, exposure, and outreach, ensuring stronger citizenship and a better future for everyone.
Michelle has roots in Albuquerque as her great grandfather, Ernest Welch, moved to New Mexico with his family in the 1920s. He was the proprietor of the Highland Pharmacy, and the NM Pharmacists Association has an award in his honor, recognizing outstanding service to pharmacy and the general welfare of the citizens of New Mexico. He was involved in many philanthropic ventures to assist Albuquerque’s growth and prosperity. Her grandmother was the first Queen of Tingley Beach—who knew, for those who are younger—but more relevant, she was the Senator Anderson’s head secretary at his Albuquerque office. Her mother, Nancy Mullen, also taught for APS, celebrating literacy as a Title I specialist, strongly influencing and mentoring her daughter. Michelle has a son who is at the University of Arizona, pursuing business. Collectively, her family has impacted our state either directly or indirectly. Michelle also strives to make a difference for the betterment of our city and our state through volunteering, inviting others to look beyond themselves to the bigger picture of unity and outreach. One day, she plans to reconnect to sports, which at one time or another, she actively embraced.
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