By Viet Vu and Michelle Nhi Nguyen, Staff Writers
Linda Muhleman, usually seen riding around campus on her supervision cart as one of the senior members of the supervision staff, shares her story.
Unlike the average 16-year-old teenage girl today, Muhleman settled down early and married a man who went to Vietnam for war. Her parents’ divorce around this time, along with her mother passing away soon after, gave Muhleman a strong sense of independence. She uses her experiences now to sympathize with struggling high school students.
“I’ve been there. I was on my own from 16 on, so I know what it’s like for some of these kids,” Muhleman said.
She has had work opportunities in several different fields, including laying carpet, making chaps for cowboys, pumping gas, working at a doctor’s office and waitressing in San Diego. During these years, she said she went through constant personal changes, which eventually landed her in a stint of being involved with a motorcycle club.
“I’m not the same person as I once was, I’ll just leave it at that,” Muhleman joked.
Muhleman finally ended up on the supervision staff during the time that her two children attended FVHS. The doctor’s office where she was working was closing down, so when there was a spot on the staff open for grabs, she immediately jumped at the opportunity.
“It all fell into place. I’ve been really fortunate in that aspect in that every time one door closes another one opens,” she said.
Recently having went through chemotherapy, she decided to buzz her hair and get a mohawk in response to a dare.
“The way the staff and the students embraced me when I was going through my chemotherapy and radiation; it was amazing to me. It was a really heartwarming, embracing kind of feeling, that you knew the community was there and that we really are a family,” she added.
Her favorite moment as supervision staff was seeing her children and their friends wait at the front gate to say, “Hi Mom!” This trend of calling her “Mom” has died out since her children graduated, but it is something that Muhleman hopes to revive.
On school days, Muhleman can be seen setting up the parking lot every morning, going through the girls locker room to make sure everything is put away and locked and controlling the traffic at the south drive way. She hopes students understand that her job is to keep them safe and that all of supervision is always there to listen.
To learn more about FVHS’s supervision team…
