An interview with Alan Mudd moves quickly to the subject of education.
"When I got out of high school, I didn't think I wanted to ever be in a school again," Mudd said. "And I ended up today, still being involved with schools."
He taught math in Jefferson City's Public Schools from 1972 until he retired in 1999 - only to be asked back for another six years as a half-time coordinator for a couple of programs.
Looking back, Mudd said his becoming a teacher surprised a lot of people, even though his mother had taught in a one-room schoolhouse before she had children, and one of his father's brothers "was a principal and superintendent, and he was like a second father to me."