- Features
Students learned during yesterday’s farewell video that science teacher and STUCO moderator Bradley Mueller will be leaving SLUH at the end of this year to become a pilot.
During his time at SLUH, Mueller has worked with Student Council, coached soccer, and been involved with the Aviation Club. Most of all though, Mueller has worked with his students, getting to know them on a personal level in the science classroom.
“I think I have a certain level of relatability and know where students are coming from in certain regards when they come to class,” said Mueller. “I feel like I have a good pulse on how students are feeling, and maybe what experiences they’re going through, as I had a similar experience from my high school career.”
Students who have worked with him have cherished their time with him. He’s impacted many students, even outside of the classroom.
“I would compare him to a mushroom,” explained STUCO president A.J. Thompson. “You know, he’s just kind of a fun guy.”
“He’s a really fly guy,” said STUCO member James Saadi.
Mueller cherishes many of his experiences here at SLUH, from immersion trips to retreats. One of his favorite memories is from one of his first years teaching at SLUH with math teacher Stephen Deves.
“One (memory) that sticks out the most is Mr. Deves and I fundraising such that we got our hair cut by unprofessional students,” said Mueller.
Mueller has made friends with many of his colleagues at SLUH, and will miss them when he leaves.
“I really will miss having Bradley in the department and just having him around,” said Science Department chair Tim O’Keefe. “He does such a great job as a teacher, in terms of the activities that he does with his students. He’s great about coming up with different projects.”
Mueller will also miss the spiritual aspect of SLUH. Going into the aviation business, there is no examen or class Mass for the pilots.
“I’m going from a very faith-centered organization to a very secular organization, so I’m going to miss the faith aspect and formational parts of this job,” said Mueller.
Mueller already has his pilot’s license, but will still go to flight school for a bit to learn more and gain more experience.
“I’m going to become totally a student again,” said Mueller. “That’s exciting because I love learning. (Aviation) is more or less an industry that I both know a lot about, but I also know so little about, so that’s exciting that I will be pushed every day to learn a lot in a very short period of time.”
When he finishes schooling, Mueller will not go into commercial flight, but will likely carry medical supplies. He also hopes to teach new pilots how to fly.
“Yeah, you probably won’t hear my voice over the radio on your next Southwest flight,” said Mueller. “I would love to stay local in corporate aviation, which is a range of things. It can be working for a company that does medical transport and transports donated organs with the doctors and nurses. It could be time-sensitive pharmaceutical drugs. Something between medicine and flight.”
Mueller will miss teaching at SLUH, but the memories and experiences he has will never leave him. However, Mueller looks forward to his new career.
“I’ll miss a lot of people here, and it makes me emotional to leave. It’s very bittersweet,” said Mueller.
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