I have a few first impressions of people when they find out I’m the school’s reporter.

For the type of reporting I’m doing, everyone is happy to see me. No "ohmygod it's the press." It's only, "Are you the reporter?" They are watching for me. Since I only publish good news about the schools in the town for which I write, everyone is delighted to share. Everyone wants their name spelled correctly when I mention their words.

I have found few who shy from the offer of an interview. Adults see how my good publicity could help their program or their school’s good name. They can be a wealth of information. Here’s my card. They make my job easy. I feel more like I’m gathering the story rather than writing it.

Younger interview candidates are so eager that they all talk excitedly at the same time. I feel like I’m disappointing them for not getting a quote from everyone in the room. But they are all so eager and smart and friendly that they have been easy subjects to work with. They have so many bright ideas and are still so joyful.

So far, the teenagers are most likely to be reluctant to share. It seems as if they feel less likely to make a mistake if they give very short answers. I make them nervous at first. I have to get them to relax. Telling them I’m brand new at this helps. I let them see my nervousness. I try not to ask yes/no questions; however, I have found that it just takes a few more questions to get something more specific than “nice” out of them. They do have some valuable information we need to know. In fact, I bet they could give me as many story ideas as the adults who have contacted me. They just don’t hand out business cards yet. And I am still learning how to ask them the right questions.