The Halls of Richard Montgomery

“I think the most rewarding aspect of the piano is really the self-study. Of course you can do competitions and festivals and master classes and all that sort of thing where you can perform, and I think that’s great. But I feel like I get the most pleasure when I’m in my basement playing the piano and studying it myself because I’m playing it for myself and I’m enjoying it. Maybe it doesn’t sound really good, but of course it gets better.”

Q: Who do you look up to the most?
A: “In terms of basketball, I have to look up to Lebron James. I’ve loved watching him; not only what he does on the court, but also what does in his community. He’s starting a school for kids in his hometown. He’s been an active voice in the Black Lives Matter movement, obviously Biden’s campaign, and he shows that the title of an athlete doesn’t really define a person. He’s also just really a good player; whenever I watch him play I try to take something that he did. That’s the same for any other NBA player, too. Just as an athlete, I think he’s a model human being and that’s why I look up to him. “

“What’s something people would never guess about you?”
“Something people would never guess about me is my music taste. I’m pretty much addicted to spotify, and I listen to everything from rap to rock to indie to country (don’t sleep on country, it hits).”

What is the most important piece of advice you have for rising seniors or incoming freshmen (or just students in general)?
“Prioritize your mental health. I had a rule for myself that if whatever I was working on wasn’t done by 1 am, it wasn’t getting done that night. I’ve never pulled an all-nighter and even though I was often sleep deprived, it wasn’t worth it to me to sacrifice my mental health to get a higher grade on an assignment. Teachers are very understanding and accommodating, ask for help/extensions if you’re overwhelmed.” ----------------------------------------------------------This post is a part of HORM's senior appreciation following their graduation. We want to recognize some of the diverse stories and experiences of RM's seniors.

“I don't think any one moment defined my whole experience at RM, but here’s one that was really transformative: It was early in my sophomore year, and I was super frustrated. Lessons and quizzes in math were going so well, but I got less than 50% on both of our unit tests. I remember going to see my teacher, Mrs. Chaney, at lunch. I told her I didn't want her to think that I didn't care about her class, but that I also didn't understand why I was scoring so poorly on tests after a successful unit. She told me that she could tell I was going to have some testing difficulty within a week of being in her room, and that she already had a plan for how I could improve. However, Mrs. Chaney also said she wanted to wait until I approached her with the problem. This experience was valuable in more ways than one: I felt so supported by my teacher, and she helped me address the issue. She also didn't treat me like a child; she wasn't going to hold my hand or force me to get help until I was able to ask for it.” -------------------------------------------------————- This post is a part of HORM's senior appreciation following their graduation. We want to recognize some of the diverse stories and experiences of RM's seniors.

“If there is one most important part of high school that everyone should know, it’s that getting involved is the best possible thing you could ever do. I know it seems scary, especially if you’re a little freshman in a big sea, but finding what you’re passionate about and finding others who share that passion is what high school is all about. You’ve never had this many opportunities to find yourself and your people! Don’t be afraid to try new things or start something new at RM. I promise you’ll find friends who will join you, even if it’s for making friendship bracelets and talking about The Bachelor.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This post is a part of HORM's senior appreciation week following their graduation. We want to recognize some of the diverse stories and experiences of RM's seniors.

“I think first and foremost our priority is making sure everyone is okay emotionally and mentally and then we can get to the academic stuff later; this is basically what I told my classes in my welcome back message because we don’t know what kinds of situations people are experiencing. There might be people at home watching siblings and they have a single parent who’s an essential employee. So we just have to give a lot of grace and be really caring and delicate because that’s the only way we’re going to get through this. If looking at the whole day looks too overwhelming, make a list of goals about what you want to achieve in the day and be gentle with yourself. Or devise a reward where if you do something productive you reward yourself with a break, a snack, or watching a show or something. Or just breathe, just stop and breathe. If you can just try and calm down and focus on what’s in front of you then you can move onto the next thing.”

“When the coronavirus first started spreading in China, my parents and other Chinese Americans contacted their own associations from universities and tried to donate supplies there, and now we ask those same people to donate the supplies to us since we’re the ones who need it now. So they mailed over masks and we dropped off over 2,000 masks today. We just drove around with the masks in our trunk and gave them to the post office and Safeway, Giant, places like that. The post office had three or four employees actually there, but they said they have 40 carriers as well. My dad asked the lady at the post office how many masks they had left, and she said they had one more box left, which is about 50 masks. She was like, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do anymore,’ so we ended up giving them around 600 masks and she was really happy. I didn’t even realize how much people needed [protective equipment], especially since this was my first time leaving the house since the break began and I’ve just been at home working on my own things. I didn't even realize how different people’s lives are right now. I just thought it was fine—I’m just staying at home, nothing is going to happen to me. I think going out and actually seeing what they were doing everyday made me see this entire crisis from a different angle. So that was my day so far.”

“Whenever I’m asked what it’s like having a twin, I don’t really know what to say because I haven’t had it any other way. Growing up we did everything together. He’s the only person I’ve gone to school with since kindergarten and we’ve also done a lot of other crazy things like gymnastics, karate, running, tennis, and even breakdance together. So I guess there’s a lot of comparison and competition that’s come with that, which is boring and kind of sucks. But we’re heading to different colleges next year. I’m sad that I’m not going to have someone to accompany me for everything. Something I’m really going to miss is our morning and afternoon car rides because I don’t see him much during the school day so when we drive home and back we talk a lot and jam to music. But I’m also happy that I’m finally going to be able to grow independently from him, since I feel like a lot of my identity is associated with him. But still, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Please read this update from our team. Any story (most certainly does not have to be related to current events) is welcome. Stay safe!

"What have your experiences been like tutoring students?"
“It’s actually a really rewarding experience. It might be a little bit frustrating at times, but when they start getting better and start understanding the concepts you kind of attribute it to yourself, and it's really rewarding."