Teaching is Bob Mullen’s passion. It's his love, it's his life, and it's what he does best. And he knows this.

Mullen is uniquely qualified to teach drivers' education in Maine. Since he graduated from Keene State College in 1975, Mullen has earned two Master's Degrees from the University of Maine: one in Education and another in Industrial Education. He has also completed more than 20 courses relating to driver's education. In fact, his minor at Keene State was Driver and Traffic Safety, and he's been a licensed tractor-trailer driver since he was 18.

But driver's ed came first. Mullen began teaching kids to drive 38 years ago at Keene Driving School in New Hampshire. Mullen likes concrete learning, knowledge that's immediately useful. "Driving is not theory-based, it's reality-based," he says. "And - especially to teenagers - it's got an element of instant gratification."

It's also tied to Mullen's other great passion: service to the community. "Teaching driver's ed combines my love of people with the ability to do a social good. Teaching allows me to make a direct impact," Mullen says, "On lives and on society."

And those are not just platitudes; Mullen gives a lot of thought to doing his part to improve the fortunes of others. He has traveled extensively with his wife and their three children. They've been throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, and have spent time in Africa and Thailand. If he ever gets around to retiring, Bob has plans to go to the Third World to help villages secure supplies of clean water.

For most of the past three decades, Mullen has spent his time in teaching at Maine public schools. But during his years at Westbrook High and Bonny Eagle, Mullen realized he needed to affect change closer to home. Far too many high school students were dying in car accidents.

"Driving is a tremendous responsibility, and I try to be very clear about that," Mullen says. "What I want my students to realize is that not only could they kill themselves in the car; they could hurt, maim or kill someone else. And that's something they would carry with them for the rest of their lives."

Mullen knew he could get through to high school students; he made his living doing it. He opened his first school in Portland on Brighton Avenue, to immediate success. The enterprise grew quickly, and now Mullen's Driving School and its sister companies boast more than three dozen employees.

With so much riding on them, it's no wonder that Mullen selects his driving school teachers with great care. "We hire teachers, policemen, professional drivers - people who enjoy teaching new skills. I hire people who like to be helpful. They have to be safety-oriented and truly like what they do. They must be invested in the long-term."

And that's just the beginning!