(MetroCreative/Graphic Illustration)

Greetings! Welcome to our space! We are elated to be here.

Before I get ahead of myself, I would love to introduce who “we” are and what “we” have planned for this space.

It’s so nice to meet you! I’m local educator, Katie Nestor.

I’m a mother, a wife, a sister, a daughter, an oldest child, a lover of knowledge and learning new things, a writer, a coach, a member of state, local and national education organizations, an encourager and advocate. Professionally, I am an English, forensics and debate and Communications teacher of students grades 9-12 at Parkersburg South High School. My career in education began locally many years ago in a split first- and second-grade classroom. After departing the early elementary grades, I decided to try my hand in both high school and collegiate education. High school is a fascinating place that I would describe similarly to America in the sense that it is truly a cultural melting pot. I openly admit that I learn something from my students each day that I was unaware of the prior day. At the collegiate level I taught literature, composition and communications until the local university was forced to shut down. I cannot wait to jump back into the college classroom once my daughters are a little older.

Weekly, this space will be used to share the thoughts, ideas and expertise of local students, educators, administrators, counselors, etc. Topicality of the pieces will vary as all submissions will come from writers with varying interests, experiences and areas of expertise. There will be a range from local to global ideologies, perspectives and interests. Primarily, this will be a student-written column allowing student writers to voice their thoughts, ideas and, most importantly, encouraging and allowing them to have a voice and be active in the community. The goal is to pilot this column with my high school students and the other cameo writers listed above. From there, the plan of expansion is opening this column to students, teachers, administrators, counselors, etc. at all local and area high schools.

Emphatically, I want to express how grateful my students are for this opportunity and the chance to get their ideas, thoughts, experiences voiced to the community. All those submitting written works to this column have something valuable to contribute in addition to vast and various training that allow them to be highly knowledgeable in their subjects. We look forward to sharing these voices with you through this platform.

My students and I hope that you will join and support us on this journey. They are used to working with me, so they always enjoy and appreciate feedback, constructive criticism, and thought-provoking questions. I will serve as the point of contact for writers that submit to this column. If you would like to communicate with a writer about their piece, you are more than welcome to forward any/all feedback to me via email: kathryn.nestor@k12.wv.us. I will ensure that the writer hears what you have to say, and that you get a response.

Don’t forget to check back next week–our first student written submission will be up, and you won’t want to miss it!

That’s all for now.