Kingswood Oxford’s newest faculty member brings a passion for teaching, coaching, and playing caber toss! Meet Paul Mullinax, one of the newest faculty members at KO who teaches biology and co-advises sophomores. He is a triple-threat coach: throughout the three seasons, he is helping with girls’ and boys’ varsity cross country, track and field, and boys’ JV squash. He is excited to contribute to the KO community by supporting students both in and out of the classroom, whether through athletics, getting to know new students, or being someone that students can go to.
Before coming to KO, Mr. Mullinax spent four years in environmental consulting, which involved helping clients follow environmental laws and regulations designed to protect air, water, land, and wildlife; he made sure businesses followed regulations for the environment. While he enjoyed it and being outdoors, the job gradually became more focused on office work. “I just wasn’t feeling as fulfilled as I could,” Mr. Mullinax said.
Eventually, he came across an application for KO’s teaching fellowship, and the opportunity seemed like a natural fit. KO’s teaching fellowship allows aspiring teachers the opportunity to learn through hands-on classroom experiences while working alongside experienced faculty members. Mr. Mullinax always enjoyed helping and teaching kids as he spent time as a camp counselor. Alongside camp, he also competed in track and field in college and always wanted to coach. “When you combine wanting to coach, work with kids, and do science,” he said, “it is kind of straightforward to be a science teacher.”
Although Mr. Mullinax is enjoying coaching girls and boys cross country, he is stoked for the track season in the spring. As he is still learning his way around, he hopes to get to know more students, names, and schedules.
Outside of KO, Mr. Mullinax has an unusual, but weirdly intriguing hobby: he occasionally competes in the Scottish Highland Games. For those who aren’t familiar, it’s a Scottish athletic competition where games like the caber toss, where competitors flip large wooden poles, and the stone toss, which is similar to shot put but with actual rocks. “I love how ridiculous it is,” Mr. Mullinax said.
Whether he is teaching biology, coaching athletes, or flipping trees, Mr. Mullinax is bringing enthusiasm, dedication, and a willingness to get involved with the KO community.
