Influencing the Next Generation for Good

Steve Mullins still goes out for lunch and dinner with a student from his very first social studies class at Meadowcreek High School – 18 years ago.

“I’ve built some great relationships with my students over the years and maintained quite a few of those connections,” Steve said. “That’s probably what I’ve loved more than anything else about teaching – the connections with the young people.”

Even though he retired last year from Meadowcreek, Steve’s influence lives on. Earlier this year, he and his wife, Amelia Brown, created the Mullins Brown Turnaround Scholarship through the Community Foundation.

“Amelia came up with the idea,” Steve said. “She wanted to give back as a way to show our support of education in general and of Meadowcreek. And we felt it was important that I didn’t completely sever my ties with Meadowcreek. We wanted to do something that would benefit kids down the line.”

Steve and Amelia had started talking about the scholarship two years ago, but other life happenings put it on hold. When they decided to move forward earlier this year, it came together quickly.

“It didn’t take long at all to establish the scholarship,” Steve said. “The Community Foundation was very easy to work with and very qualified to handle all the details surrounding scholarships. We just let them know what we wanted to do, in very general terms, and they made it happen.”

The newly created Mullins Brown Turnaround Scholarship provides $500 each to one male and one female student every year.

“The scholarship is based on who made the greatest change from the end of their 9th grade year to the middle of their 12th grade year, based on GPA,” Steve said. “We want to help kids who get serious and decide to turn things around.

“None of this would have been possible, though, without the contributions of Bartow and Barbara Brown, Amelia’s father and mother, so it’s also a way to help us remember them. Her father was also a teacher and U.S. Navy veteran like I was, and her mother worked for Emory University for years as an administrative assistant. They were both big believers in education and big supporters of my work as a teacher.”

So what’s next for Steve and Amelia since he retired? Two years in Korea!

“I accepted a position in Korea working at the Korean national school, helping establish an English as a Second Language program,” Steve said. “We’re looking forward to it!”

Interested in learning how you can create a scholarship through the Community Foundation? Contact Randy Redner at rredner@cfneg.org or 770-813-3384.