I attribute my love of writing to encouragement at an early age from my first and second grade teachers. It seemed natural that I would volunteer to write for the school newspaper as an extracurricular activity in middle school, high school, and college. There was a pecking order to the news organization at each level, with new reporters given minor assignments and, as you gained experience, more interesting ones. If you chose (or were chosen) to go the editor route, your reporting assignments were less frequent, you edited other articles, and you could have a chance at writing an editorial or op-ed.

As an editor, I learned about the power of the press and the importance of discussing a potentially controversial article or editorial with the editorial board prior to publishing it. High schools and colleges are relatively close-knit communities, and the odds are high that the people you write about you may have to engage with regularly. More than once, the editorial board suggested that I discuss the issue at hand with the administrator whose actions prompted the proposed editorial before publication. These weren’t easy discussions, but they provided more clarity to the editor(s) and editorial board, while providing a heads-up to the administrator that our paper was planning to report on the decision or incident.