Veteran teacher Martha Amborn has seen Vicksburg Catholic School move to a new location, go through several new principals and seen 35 years of students excel in her classes.

Amborn, a fourth-grade teacher at St. Francis, said sometimes a student will walk in and she will know exactly who their parents are.

“When you start teaching the children of your former students, you know you’ve been here a long time,” she said. “It’s wonderful, but it’s just hard to imagine.”

Originally from the Delta, Amborn married into a family with a rich history of tradition at St. Aloysius and St. Francis.

“My husband (Charlie Amborn) graduated from St. Al, and my three children (Abigayle, Amanda and Charlie) went to St. Francis and St. Al,” she said. “It’s been a big family for a long time.”

Amborn said her husband’s family goes back generations with St. Al graduates and she has a grandson who will graduate from the school this year.

Despite her long tenure, Amborn said she has no plans to leave any time soon

“They say you’ll know when it’s time,” she said. “A lot of people just take it for granted when I see them, and they’ll ask me what year I retired.”

Amborn said as long as she feels she’s making a difference and enjoying her time, she’s not leaving.

“I do it for the children,” she said. “Seeing them grow from the beginning of the year to the end of the year is fun to watch. You see them grow in a lot of different ways, not just academically, but spiritually and mentally.”

Amborn said she loves teaching at a Catholic school, and it’s the only place she could see herself working.

“It’s just a big family,” she said. “Meeting all these teachers that I may not have met had I not been here is just wonderful. It’s the perfect place to be.”

One of those teachers Amborn said is Shelley Nosser, who has been her teaching partner for 24 years.

“My teacher partner has been here just as long as I have, maybe a year longer,” she said. “We have been partners since we moved to the new school which was in 1991.”

Nosser said the strong partnership helps the students because they’re able to come together for their activities.

“When we do stuff we always do it together, movies, art or food, whatever it may be,” she said.

Nosser said after all the years she and Amborn think the same and even sometimes dress the same.

“You know who benefits the most from it is the kids,” she said. “They see a perfect friendship.”