Beloved music teacher Luiz Mullini Nascimento retires from Harmony Science Academy, leaving an indelible impact on students and colleagues.
FORT WORTH, Texas — The hallways of Harmony Science Academy are filled with boxes as teachers pack up for summer, but for Luiz Mullini Nascimento those boxes won’t be unpacked for next year’s students.
“Can you believe there was a band in this room here?” he says in a packed-up room on his last day, May 27.
Mr. “Mullini,” as everyone calls him, is retiring after 20 years of perfect attendance.
“The first thing is I think I have good health,” he jokingly said. “The second thing is I really like what I do. This is fun for me. I really enjoy what I do.”
As he takes his final walk through the hallways, he said there is so much he will miss.
“I really enjoy the environment of this school, all of the teachers and the administrators.”
But his elementary students are at the top of his list, especially the ones who never thought they could play an instrument.
“They transform their personality through an instrument or sometimes singing. Bring what they have inside out is something very important to me.”
It’s hard for him to choose a song that sums up his career at the school. However, his colleague in the fine arts had no problem.
Her name is Jessica Vasani, a fellow art teacher whose classroom sits right next door to Mullini’s.
“I hear a lot of noises. ‘Pizza Pie’ is the popular one and if it’s near November near Veterans’ Day, I hear, ‘11-11.’ I usually hear kids practice and usually my kids start singing with them.”
It’s a song the students perform every year at the school’s Veterans’ Day celebration. It’s a song that carries deep personal meaning for Vasani. Her dad served in the military and died in 2019.
In the years since, Mullini has been a steady presence in her life, mentoring her when she first started teaching and never letting her feel alone. She describes him as friendly, kind, helpful, and someone the students love. His last day is emotional for her.
“He left me in good hands,” a teary-eyed Vasani said. “Now, I feel confident as a teacher and he’s helped me a lot.”
She came to him for guidance.
She leaves a daughter figure.
She didn’t originally want a wedding without her father, until she thought of the one person who could walk beside her on her wedding day. Mr. Mullini said yes with tears but without hesitation. Vasani plans to make him a tie that matches her jacket .
He’s a man with a big heart who is leaving a big hole in the school’s hallways. He will miss it all, but says he’s leaving on a high note.
“Every summer, after two weeks of doing nothing, I miss the kids, the noise, the singing, and practice. I think I am doing this at the right time. I did my best,” he said.
As for what’s next, he is looking forward to sleeping through his 5:30 a.m. alarm clock and visiting his family in Brazil.