Armando Montes, vice principal of UTRGV’s Mathematics and Science Academy, and Melissa Peña-Montes, the school’s program coordinator, are happily married and have one child, and work together.
The two met at work, where they happened to be teachers across from each other. Peña-Montes accepted her first job at the same IDEA school where Montes also taught.
“He was very stern, very straightforward with the kids,” Peña-Montes said.
Montes also found Peña-Montes was similar to him. He said most new teachers would cry or break down, but she never did that.
“I was very surprised. She was very stern as well,” Montes said.
The two also got to know each other through after-school sports. Montes was a basketball coach, while Peña-Montes became in charge of the spirit team. The two eventually started going to basketball games together and hung out afterward.
The two dated for two years before they married. For their proposal, Peña-Montes thought they were going to a barbecue for her dad’s 50th birthday. Everyone else there already knew there would be a proposal.
A photographer had been hired for the occasion, and Peña-Montes was asked to remain at a spot and be photographed with many different family members. She was not allowed to look at the photos and was unaware the rest of her family was holding up signs that read, “Will you marry me?”
Once the message was complete, she was allowed to look at the photos.
“I looked into the camera and he showed me the ones, where in the back, you could see everyone with the little boards,” Peña-Montes said.
The two wed on July 11, 2015. They not only see each other at home but also at work.
“We have a motto,” Montes said. “Keep it professional at work. People sometimes don’t know that we’re married, just because we always refer to each other by last name.”
At work, their students know to call them Mr. and Mrs. Montes. Montes said any issues outside of work will remain outside of work. The couple said being respectful and listening to each other before speaking is an important quality of their relationship.
Outside of work, they have visited many places together, including Playa del Carmen at Cancún, which Montes said he still talks about to this day, and they hope to re-visit Disney World this summer with their son, Hayward, who will turn 2 next month.
“Even though we visited [together before], we want to go back just to be able to experience that with our son,” Montes-Peña said.
Besides their son, they also have a pet Shih Tzu named Copper.
“My son and him share a brotherly bond,” Peña-Montes said.
The couple share other interests outside of work and their family.
“Education is a major one, especially since him being a veteran, I was able to use part of his benefits to be able to go back and obtain my master’s,” she said. “… Now, I’m done with my master’s, and he’s working on his second master’s. … [We] want to do better, especially for our son.”
The couple still give each other gifts. Asked about one of the sweetest things the other person has done, Peña-Montes said her husband decided to surprise her with a gift on Christmas. During December, she hoped to buy concert tickets to see the Backstreet Boys, a group she loved during the ’90s.
“For Christmas, he bought me Backstreet Boys tickets for Las Vegas,” Peña-Montes said.
