ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

What is your fondest memory from St. Martin’s?

Oh, that is a great question! I would say it was the day I was tapped into the National Honor Society, second semester of my senior year. I remember the gathering, and it was the first time my grades were ever at the point where I knew I could be a candidate. The whole place was filled, and all of a sudden I heard this little child in the back of the room, and I thought, “Oh, that’s my brother Taylor. I must be getting in this time!” Then they reached over and tapped me on the head, and that was really exciting. I was so honored.

How do you still keep in contact with your friends from StM?

Originally, there were just a few that I really kept in touch with. People move, and time goes by, and you lose those [contacts]. But then...Facebook. And once Facebook came, we all found each other fairly quickly. My kids have let me know that Facebook is not really cool anymore, but I can never get rid of Facebook because I’ll lose all of my St. Martin’s friends.

Who influenced you the most while at StM?

There are so many people. Dorothy Porter, whom I just adored and idolized. Her sweet smile and the way her eyes would go into slits. Her sweet husband, Tony Porter, who was a coach. My mom taught at St. Martin’s, so I knew a lot of the Upper School teachers really well. Mr. Perez, the Spanish teacher, was amazing. I just loved him. Another is Mr. Schwartz, who was the head of the Middle School at that time. He started the 8th grade trip. He was definitely someone that we all idolized. Mrs.

Alumni Spotlight LIZ MARTIN ARMSTRONG ’78

Roniger, who is also on the Board of Visitors, was my crush teacher. I think I had art every Monday or something, and I had a favorite dress that I wore every Monday to impress her.

What is the most important thing you learned while at StM?

The value of going to a Christian school. I look back and realize how important it is. I look back, and time goes by, and this world becomes more divided and more secular, and I look back, and I’m so grateful [for St. Martin’s]. I remember the songs we sang in the chapel...and every time I hear those songs, I just start crying because I think about my time at St. Martin’s.

Describe StM in three words?

Safe. St. Martin’s was a safe place to grow up. Caring would go with that. It was a very caring place. I look back at my life in New Orleans, and it’s a place to me that I was always safe. I always was loved. And finally, relationships. Lifelong relationships with people my age and with faculty, and I’m a big relationship-oriented person.

How did StM prepare you to thrive in college and in life?

Oh wow...I walked into college like it was just another year at St. Martin’s. I was so prepared for all of the classes. I walked right in, and I didn’t even skip a beat. Academically, I was perfectly prepared for SMU (Southern Methodist University). I was so grateful for that because a lot of people struggled their freshman year, and St. Martin’s was just the perfect college preparatory school.

What message do you have for the soon-to-be graduates of StM?

Keep in touch with your friends. Visit the school when you can. When I come to town, I love to drive by. Remember the school when you are looking at your annual gifts. Remember the place that gave you so much. You have to give back to those places. I give back to the places that gave a lot to me. St. Martin’s is a place that I will always give back to. It starts with thanking the institutions that changed my life. Relationships matter, and my relationship with St. Martin’s is something that I will be grateful for until the day that I die.

What is something people may not know about you?

I have my Expert qualification in riflery. I earned that at summer camp, and it took me about eight years to do it. I worked really hard. I earned it the very last week, and it mattered a lot to me. I wasn’t an athlete, this was just something really unusual and cool and something that I am really proud of.