Braghan Mulvaney spent six months last spring filling in for teachers across Kindergarten through 8th grade at Benton Grade School, testing out a possible future career. Now in her first year as a full-time paraprofessional in reading intervention, she says substituting gave her exactly the answer she needed. "That really opens your eyes," she said of those months moving from classroom to classroom. "You kind of get an idea of, is this something I would love to do."

Her own name draws a double take before her story even starts. "Braghan, like Ronald Reagan with a B," she said, the trick she uses so people remember it. She grew up moving around central Illinois as the daughter of a Methodist pastor, first in Lewiston until she was nine, then in Casey, years before the town built its collection of oversized roadside attractions. Her father has since retired, and Mulvaney now attends a Baptist church herself, though faith and family have stayed constant threads through every move.

Mulvaney attended Eastern Illinois University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in community health. She later met her husband, and the two married in 2009. His path to seminary carried them to Fort Worth, Texas, where Mulvaney trained as an occupational therapy assistant, then to Lake St. Louis for a year before a position brought the family to Benton a decade ago, when their oldest son was four months old. Her husband now serves as children's pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church, and the couple has four kids of their own, Jack, Benjamin, Charlotte, and Isaiah, ranging from preschool through fifth grade. In fact, it was teaching children at church that allowed her to see that teaching may be her calling. She truly loved teaching at the church.

That love turned into a full-time position this fall, working under reading specialist Cindy Billington alongside a team of paraprofessionals. Braghan mostly serves kindergarten through second grade students. The curriculum is new to everyone this year, which Mulvaney says has actually made the transition easier. "Being the new kid on the block, it's nice to all learn it together," she said. Six weeks into the job, she is still as enthusiastic as on her first day.

What keeps her energized is watching small breakthroughs happen in real time. Her goal for the young readers she sees each day is simple, confident, and proficient reading, but she has learned to savor the process rather than rush toward that finish line. "There are so many good moments, those light bulb moments when the kids just get it," she said. She feels the same way at home with her own four children, in no hurry to see them grow up any faster than they already are.

Mulvaney is already working toward something bigger. She is taking coursework online through Western Governors University to earn her teaching license. This process will eventually require student teaching and testing on top of the degree she already holds. Teaching runs in the family. Her mother was a teacher, and her father spent time as a paraprofessional himself after retiring from ministry.

Between four kids, online classes, volunteering at church, and a new career, Mulvaney admits the pace can feel like a great deal to carry. How does she do it all? Her answer is simple. "One day at a time," she said. She hopes that someday soon she will have a classroom of her own, whether in elementary or middle school. Down the road, she hopes she will be doing for newer teachers what Billington and fellow reading interventionist Sandra Wills have done for her - mentoring the next round of people finding their footing. For now, she is focused on the kids in front of her each morning, determined that every one of them feels seen, supported, and capable of becoming whatever they set their mind to.