ASL and SJND Alum Mx. Mullin
Written by Wyatt S. ‘27
You might be walking down the halls of the second-floor Marianist and expect to hear the chatter of students and teachers, historical stories coming from Mr. Smith’s class, or the limits of the Executive branch from Mr. Sandberg. But in one class, on the second floor of Marianist, you might hear simply silence. The class isn’t empty; it’s communicating differently. The only sounds might be hands and fingers moving quickly and some panting from the room’s youngest guest.
Mx. Mullin is the new ASL (American Sign Language) teacher here at SJND. In addition to being an alum of SJND, Mx. Mullin is also deaf. They joined the teaching staff this year and by their side is service dog Nova. Mx. Mullin has always taught folks different skills, including teaching skiing before their time at our school.
When I asked why they would choose to teach at SJND, Mx. Mullin replied, “I used to go to school here and ASL came back.” Mx. Mullin credits the community feel of the SJND campus, its faculty, and its students. They know what is to play a role in keeping Pilot Pride going throughout the school year.
Nova comes frequently to classes with Mx. Mullin and of course brings smiles to anyone she encounters with her sweet black lab puppy eyes. When asked about how well Nova was adapting to the school environment, Mx Mullin said, “She’s really chill.”
SJND offers ASL I, II, and III for students as part of the LOTE (Languages Other Than English) program. Mx. Mullin teaches all sections of the class and knows that students can gain insight and understanding when taking their classes. Mx. Mullin shares that their students can learn about “cultural experience and access to a new community. Since they know ASL they can join in the deaf community and make a bunch more friends. Also, explore other career opportunities that come with knowing ASL.”
Students are enjoying the ASL classes with Mx. Mullin. A current ASL student noted, “It’s a fluid language that is somewhat easy to learn and it’s much cooler than other languages as there are words to describe things that standard languages can’t.”
Learning languages is always best coming from a native speaker, and we are grateful to have Mx. Mullin here in our community. See them in action during ASL classes and potentially hear from them as they “are deaf but love to sing!”
