Assistant Athletic Director Michael Mullins isn’t someone students just walk past unnoticed. Standing well over six feet, and having worked for years in education across various schools in Loudoun County, both as a teacher and as a coach, Mullins has cultivated spirited environments in the places that he has worked. “He was a history teacher at Freedom, and the kids loved him, so he was really good,” Assistant Principal Dawn Dickerson said. “He made learning history a lot of fun. When he tells stories, he’s really animated, so the kids were really drawn in and engaged.” 

Mullins’ influence is only increasing through his newly introduced podcast, Phoenix Rising.

Phoenix Rising began airing earlier this fall, and its original intentions were to spotlight the administration team that initially established the school. Its first episode starred Principal John Duellman. Subsequent episodes have featured Athletic Director Patrick McNanley and Counseling Director Kevin Terry.

Mullins had many motives for starting the podcast. Previously working as a history teacher earlier in his career, storytelling has always been one of Mullins’ passions. “I love individuals’ histories, so I think it’s interesting to find out [one’s history], especially for these original Phoenix that I’ve been interviewing,” Mullins said. “One [question I ask is] ‘How do they get into education?’ Because I’ll be honest. I mean, there are a few people, but rarely do people who get into education grow up [knowing that is what they want to do].” 

The podcast has allowed listeners to learn new things about the guests featured, regardless of how well they knew them. “I did find it fascinating listening to Mr. Dulleman’s podcast, because I’ve known Mr. Dulleman almost for 30 years now,” Athletic Director Patrick McNanley said. “I found out stuff from the podcast that I didn’t know, and I’ve been working right next to him for years now.” 

Assistant Principal Mike Fitzgerald, featured in the fourth episode, also admires how Mullins brings their stories to life. “[Mullins] is trying to, in a podcast format, humanize those of us who are working in the administration,” Fitzgeralds said.

Mullins’ most recent interview was with Dickerson, who found Mullins’ questions insightful. “[Mullins] asked questions that were really thought-provoking,” Dickerson said. “[The] questions [were] like, ‘What are some of the challenges of being here at Rock Ridge? What are some of the great things about being here at Rock Ridge, or successes that you played a role in?”

Within the athletic department itself, Mullins also introduced the Phoenix Spotlight on social media. Each episode focuses on Mullins interviewing athletes with standout achievements, giving these students encouragement and support by shining a light on them.

Outside of the athletic department’s halls, Mullins has already taken strides in bonding and building the Phoenix community by raising spirits. He has organized fundraisers and engaging events that the Rock has not seen before, such as the wrestling fundraising pep rally held in collaboration with the Dulles South Food Pantry. 

“He [Mullins] applied for the job, and he was an amazing candidate. The school already sees all the stuff he’s doing for our school, building spirit, recognizing our student athletes, and adding on things like the podcast, as well as leading some really cool fundraisers that we haven’t done before,” McNanley said.

Looking forward, Mullins plans on interviewing all the original coaches who are a part of the Rock Ridge community. 

Eventually, Mullins hopes to add his podcast to Spotify, hoping to reach more people. “I haven’t put it on Spotify yet,” Mullins said. “Apparently, there’s a way I can do that. I [have] to learn how to do that; right now, I’m just loading up MP for files onto a Google Doc and sharing it that way, so hopefully we will get more technically proficient and savvy as we go.”

In the meantime, Mullins will continue to interview the original staff at Rock Ridge and slowly expand to reach more people. “I’m hoping that the more we do this, the more we get out there,” Mullins said. “There was no set target that I wanted to get; I just wanted to start something that we hadn’t done before [and utilize] another way to get information out to the community about the cool stuff that’s happening at Rock Ridge.”