Leopard print, high heels and a little black dress. Super model attire? No. That’s the everyday wear for the new English teacher and Student Activities Director. At first glance, Melissa Morgan looks more like the editor-in-chief of Vogue, and less like an English teacher.

Morgan heard Stagg had a good reputation and a great English Department. She had been teaching at Franklin for two years and felt she needed a change. As the new Student Activities Director, she plans to advise the students and guide them in the activities that they plan. “This is my first year doing this, it’s been fun so far.”

Besides teaching English, she really wants her students to know that she doesn’t see them as just students, “I want them to know I do truly care about them.”

She connects to her students by sharing her personal interests, for instance, her fierce fashion sense.

“Ever since I was 5 years old, I was obsessed with clothes.” Both her grandmas are into fashion and her mom has a degree in fashion design. “It must run in the family.” She owns over 200 pairs of shoes and loves leopard print. Her style would be described as classic, an Audrey Hepburn vibe. With Morgan such an avid fan of fashion, it’s a surprise she didn’t pursue that as a career. “Teaching is my first choice in everything. The jobs in fashion…you don’t have to think. Teaching; I’m actually making a contribution.”

In high school Morgan describes herself as, “Kind of a crazy kid, when I was in high school, I ditched a lot… (got into) fights. I had a lot of anger as a teenager. I didn’t think school was a positive environment.” She had a lot of friends and went to parties, as teens nowadays do, but found the learning process to be difficult. Teachers had their favorites. “I felt certain kids were treated differently.” Now as a teacher herself, she doesn’t want to neglect her students like those before her. Ironically, the girl who hated school became a teacher. She says, “Maybe I just grew up.”