When I was offered the position of education reporter here at the Salisbury Post, I jumped on it as fast as I could. Not because I had any special interest in education per say, I just really wanted to get my foot into the newspaper industry door. I had only finished my education at UNC-Chapel Hill a couple months prior, but I was already starting to think I would never find a job. I know that looking back it was actually a short amount of time, but when you’re in it, it seems like forever.

Although I would not have said my primary interest was education, it is quickly becoming so. Just from a few days of working here I have realized how important the education beat really is, so for my first-ever column, I thought I’d share a few of those realizations.

First, education is constantly affecting our lives. We are all either in school, paying for school or sending someone we love off to school. School buses are always turning right in front of us when we are rushing to get to work on time. The changes happening in schools will affect the next generation of students coming into the work field – which will affect us. Education stories are not just for parents – they affect us all in one way or another.

Next, education is constantly making our lives better. Where would some of us be without those grants and scholarships that helped us pay for college, not to mention the refunds that helped fund our microwave noodle diets. We know that the more education a person has, the more opportunities open up to them. A good education is the starting point for inventions, upgrades and new ways of thinking. I would not be where I am today without the great teachers and mentors I have had throughout my educational career.

Lastly, education is constantly changing. It is more complex and diverse than I thought it would be, which means it is interesting. I could be writing about a school board meeting one day and cyberbullying the next. In the classrooms, I can write about new iPads or poverty. I can get personal and write about a child in the Rowan-Salisbury School System, or I can go national and write about trends occurring in our school systems as a whole, while still tying everything back to us here at home. There is so much to talk about when you talk about education.

So although education might not have been my first choice, the education beat may just become an important passion for me. One promise that I will make is that I will work as hard as I can to give the education beat the justice it deserves, knowing that every story is important – from snow days to third grade literacy. I hope that you will enjoy reading the articles as much as I am sure I will enjoy writing them.