Journalism teacher and Vision leader Debbie Montgomery has had to step down from her position due to health issues.

While she spent less than two years here, her influence can be seen every week in The Vision as well as in all the students she had. Former editor in chief and Class of 2016 graduate Rachel Bobo said “Working with Mrs. Montgomery was one of the best parts of working for The Vision last year. When I didn’t really know where to go as editor, Mrs. Montgomery was always there to help me out the correct way to resolve a situation or finish an edition.”

Joy Carino, another former Vision staff member, expressed the same feelings as Bobo. “Looking back, journalism was a highlight of my senior year, and it wouldn’t have been that way without Mrs. Montgomery’s willingness to give her time, talents, and care to MSMS and The Vision!” Carino said.

One of Montgomery’s most notable achievements was not only increasing the amount of content produced by The Vision, but also letting students do article they thought were important. “She gave us so much creative freedom to express ourselves and to write the articles that we thought were important,” said senior Rebecca Chen. “She was really open to new ideas and was very supportive of them.”

Mrs. Montgomery appreciated her time spent at MSMS. “My tenure with The Vision staff was shorter than I anticipated, but my nearly one-and-a-half year affiliation brought a tremendous sense of pride and excitement.” She also expressed her appreciation for the staff. “Each staff member brings a uniqueness to the paper and together they form a great team. I hope they will continue to improve the product with in-depth writing and storytelling photography.”

Replacing Mrs. Montgomery will be Mr. Thomas Richardson. An English teacher at New Hope High School as well as a member of the MSMS Class of 2004, Richardson has some previous experience in the field, having written for Millsaps’ student newspaper, The Purple and White, while attending college there.

Recently, Richardson resurrected New Hope’s student newspaper and now hopes to help The Vision. “My number one priority is to guide students in executing their ideas; I want to try and get as many students involved in the paper as possible and to drive up enthusiasm for a product that is student-made,” said Richardson.

Staff members of The Vision share Richardson’s hopeful outlook. “I’m looking forward to a fresh perspective on our newspaper, even if I’m going to miss the kind and caring hand of Mrs. Montgomery,” said junior Jack Sparkman.

Senior Rebecca Chen had similar feelings. “I’m really looking forward to working with Mr. Richardson and all the new things he’s bringing to the newspaper, but of course I’m sad that Mrs. Montgomery has left.”

Even Montgomery herself expressed excitement for Richardson joining, as she said “I know that Mr. Richardson will handily ensure continued success. How fortunate for the students that he is able to bring his own MSMS experience as The Vision’s new advisor.”

While the staff of The Vision will miss Mrs. Montgomery, we look forward to a positive time with Mr. Richardson.