Montagano and Truss only knew each other for a year while in the same 7th grade class at Parkcrest Elementary School in Burnaby, BC, in the late 1980s. Montagano grew up to become a teacher at the same school, while Truss grew up to be the Prime Minister of Britain. “It’s pretty surreal,” Montagano said. “I didn’t know what he was doing until last week.” Queen Elizabeth appointed Liz Truss as the UK’s new political leader on Tuesday, succeeding Boris Johnson’s office representing the UK Conservative Party. When Truss was 12, her father, mathematician John Truss, brought her to BC. for a year while working at Simon Fraser University. “Thirty years ago I spent a year in Canada that changed my outlook on life,” Liz Truss wrote in a Canada Day 2018 instagram post. He shared a yearbook photo from Parkcrest Elementary’s 7th grade class of ’87-’88. She is lit up in a pink sweater, second from left in the middle row. Montagano was at Disneyland when a colleague texted her a photo of the same class. When Truss’s name clicked for her, the first memory that came to mind was Truss’s British accent. After that, he began to recall interactions with Truss in the hallways of Parkcrest Elementary. “He had a great sense of humor and that sly half-smile after he said a pun or a sarcastic joke that we all laughed at,” said Montagano, who remembers Truss as “great” and “brilliant.” Montagano says Truss’ life path created a great teaching opportunity for her students. “I taught a lesson today using this class photo and the fact that this is what he’s doing now. Dream big because you never know where your life story will take you,” Montagano said.
“You never know where kids will end up”
Truss’ former teacher at Parkcrest, Bill Chambers, is now retired. He spent several decades teaching and says he doesn’t remember what the would-be prime minister was like at the time. “Looking [at the photo]I couldn’t make her out until they told me where she was in the picture and she started coming back,” Chambers said. “We can remember that British accent in class, but other than that, I have no memory.” Liz Truss lived in BC for a year while her father taught at Simon Fraser University. (oldvancouver/Instagram) Chambers learned of Truss’s political career after being asked to interview him. “I Googled her and the first article I saw was Liz Truss becoming the next prime minister of Britain and I literally put my phone down,” Chambers said. Chambers says while he doesn’t remember Truss individually, he does remember the class in the photo. He kept in touch with several students, including Montagano. “Bill was a big influence on me becoming a teacher and I wonder if he played a part in that [for Truss],” Montagano said. Chambers says seeing what his students achieve is part of what has made his career rewarding. “As a teacher, you never really know what your impact is going to be on kids and where they’re going to end up,” Chambers said. When it comes to Truss’s political leanings, Chambers says he doubts he had any influence. “I avoid politics,” Chambers said. “I’ve asked some friends if I agree [Truss’s] politics but you know what? I’m not even going to comment on it because I don’t watch it much.” However, Chambers says his relationship with Truss would make a good party story. “I’ll probably introduce myself as the guy who knows the Prime Minister of Britain. Well, I knew her when she was 12, sort of.” When it comes to offering some teacher wisdom to Truss for her new role, Chambers says he would give her the same advice he did when he was 12: “Use your skills, use your wits, figure out what you need to do and just work hard and do it.’ Montagano also wishes Truss the best and is open to reuniting. “I wonder if I can use that class photo to pop in and have tea or something with her if I ever end up in England,” he said.
