When students enter room 1168, they immediately realize that they will have a joyful experience with Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Angela Mullins. Her cheerful vibe vibrates across the classroom, and anyone can see she is a happy and beloved teacher who is dedicated to her job.

Mullins is a West Chicago alumna who went on to major in family and consumer sciences education at Illinois State University. Then, she took on her biggest accomplishment yet: a master’s in educational technology at Concordia University. 

Before working at West Chicago Community High School, Mullins was employed by West Aurora High School, and is now finishing her eighth year of teaching. 

Mullins sees herself teaching for a long time: “This is definitely my passion, definitely what I love to do.” 

Part of the reason Mullins is considered one of the most “fun” teachers is because of the courses she oversees: she teaches culinary and fashion, two electives that are high on students’ priority lists. Mullins is always energetic when teaching, and strives to improve students’ learning through hands-on activities, and fun games in which tables compete to eliminate one another by answering test-related questions, or use a fly swatter to hit the correct answer on the whiteboard. 

“She is a really sweet teacher. When making a mistake, she says, ‘It’s okay, girly. I’ll help you fix it,’ instead of making you feel like a bad cook,” said sophomore Vanessa Romero Reyes.

Those thoughts were echoed by sophomore Clara Hasselgren, who said, “Mrs. Mullins does not give up on finding a solution to any problem!”

While students appreciate Mullins’ teaching style and passion, a misconception about Mullins is that she is always happy.

Mullins said, “Everyone always knows that I’m always smiling, always cheerful, always happy and it’s nice, ‘cause you know I am that type of person. But, of course, I have my moments where life doesn’t go as planned.”

While mishaps may happen, her work bestie, Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Michelle Slezak, is always there for her. 

Slezak said, “We work really well together, so with any class that we’re planning, or any assignment that we’re creating, we just get each other and we kind of understand what the other person is thinking without even saying it.”

Mullins’ go-to is Slezak because “having her as a friend and coworker is definitely a blessing.” 

Slezak echoed the sentiment: “Having Mrs. Mullins as a coworker is amazing! She is always so supportive, helpful, and kind – I don’t know what I would do without her.” 

Former West Aurora coworker (and now a great friend at West Chicago Community High School) English teacher Mary Fremeau said, “Mrs. Mullins is honestly one of the most thoughtful and loving people I know. We both came to West Chicago the same year from teaching at West Aurora High School, and we always say God led us to find each other and be friends! She has been so supportive and encouraging to me for the six plus years we have been friends, and I just adore her, as I know all her students and coworkers do, too.”

“What I personally love about her is when she makes me feel special by remembering the sport I play and asking about it while going over the announcements,” said Romero Reyes.

Throughout her years at the high school, Mullins has been involved in various activities, and was actually recognized on November 7, 2019 by Symetra’s Heroes in the Classroom program. Among the honors was a $2,000 donation for her classroom. 

Mullins said, “We were able to go – with my husband – to a Bears game that weekend and we were recognized on the jumbotron on the screen. I was able to go on the field and be at the same level as all the players. It was just a really cool experience, I felt very VIP.” 

For Mullins’ coworkers, such an award comes as no surprise; Career and Tech Ed Division Chair Marc Wolfe said, “Mrs. Mullins brings so much energy to her classroom, and the CTE Division as a whole. She is someone that students enjoy learning from, and her positivity is contagious to students and staff around her. She makes WEGO a better place.”

But how did Mullins become the teacher she is today?

She grew up in West Chicago with her parents Frank and Joanne, and siblings Mena and Giovanni, who also went to WEGO. While attending Wegner Elementary and then Leman Middle School, Mullins’ childhood consisted of trips to Wisconsin every summer with family, spending time with family and friends, crafting, baking, playing “school”, playing outdoors, and swimming.

Mullins said, “We come from a big Italian family, so each individual family rented a different part of the cabin, it was like little mini cabins in a whole big place so we would all go the same week, and that was just something I looked forward to every summer as a kid.”

Now, she lives with husband Cory in South Elgin. She describes Cory as a “super caring person, always worries about others, takes care of others, and he’s a hard worker, all around good guy.” 

Likewise, Cory feels blessed to have Mullins as his wife.

“It’s a lot like being one of her students, to be honest. She teaches me how to cook (foods), how to dress (fashion), reports progress back to my parents and still disciplines me for being late! All kidding aside, it’s more like winning the lottery, every day. Much like her students and colleagues, Mrs. Mullins always puts my best interest first. She is the most hardworking and caring individual I know. Her constant drive inspires me to be the best person I can. Mrs. Mullins lights up a room with her fun-loving, bubbly personality and continues to give me endless reasons to be proud to call her my wife,” said Cory Mullins via email.

They adopted Kudi when he was a puppy (though he already had the name). Mullins goes on to describe Kudi as “super chill, goes with the flow, loves walks, loves being energetic when you want to play, but also will sleep next to you when you want to nap or do whatever you want to do as well.” 

Outside of school, Mullins takes the time to get her mind off work. Friday nights are usually date nights with her husband. 

“So, we will go to dinner, we’ll do an activity, just something us two, and then just kind of relax,” said Mullins. 

Saturday mornings, Mullins can often be found doing a yoga class or another workout. She grocery shops or runs errands with her mom. 

Mullins laughed when describing her weekend activities, and said, “Clean the house, all that fun stuff. Adulting stuff, hehe.”

When the sun sets, Mullins tends to get together with family and friends. She often has family dinner at her mom’s house with all her siblings and said they do a “lot of relaxing but more so just getting stuff done around the house, errands, working out, setting time for yoga and just spending time with loved ones, for sure.” 

It is evident Mullins is a well-rounded individual who cares about those around her, including her family – at home, and at WEGO.