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Michael Mukai, a member of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology’s inaugural class, is returning to his alma mater as the first former student to become its principal.
Mukai will take over in January after 10 years as principal of West Springfield High School. He plans to guide TJHSST through the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, a transition he compares with the dawn of the computer age that shaped his own experience at the school.
When Mukai entered the experimental magnet STEM program in 1985, even his parents needed reassurance that it had a future. The principal told them the school would remain open for “at least four years.”
“It was an amazing time, we were at a tipping point for the computer age,” Mukai said. “We knew computers would be important but we didn’t know how it would affect us and our society.”
As part of the first class, Mukai and his classmates helped test a new kind of education while navigating their teenage years. He credited the school’s teachers and staff with giving students the support and freedom to explore unfamiliar territory.
“We were trying to find ourselves while also being on the edge of a new frontier,” he said. “It was a wonderful experience.”
Mukai later became a math and science teacher before moving into school leadership. Now, 40 years after starting at TJHSST, he sees another technological turning point approaching and wants today’s students to have the same opportunity to experiment, innovate and push boundaries.
A visit during alumni weekend over the Thanksgiving holiday strengthened his emotional connection to the school. Although its buildings have changed, Mukai said much of the place still felt familiar.
“I have a debt of gratitude to pay to a place that changed my life,” he said. “TJ gave me a chance to do more and to be more.”
Mukai said returning brings together what he wants to do and what he feels he owes the school. His goal is to serve its students while demonstrating what TJHSST has meant to him throughout his life.