By Scott Cole

My name is Scott Cole and I am one of the newest additions to the Neuse News team.

But who am I?

First of all, I need to be honest about this: I am a nerd. I nerd it up with everything I am into.

I am a movie nerd, especially with Star Wars and Marvel film franchises. I am a trivia nerd and can probably beat most people in any local trivia night.

I am a history nerd. This is not surprising considering I am a history teacher at Ayden-Grifton High School, having formerly taught at the Lenoir County Learning Academy and in New York State. 

Growing up near Philadelphia, it's hard not to be a history nerd when you grow up in the shadow of Ben Franklin and the Founding Fathers. Gettysburg, New York and Baltimore are two hours away; Washington is another hour past that.  Boston is just four short hours away, providing New York City traffic is light.

When you grow up in the Philly area, you also become a sports nerd. I have grown up loving the Phillies, Flyers and Eagles. I firmly believe that Jason Kelce's epic post-Super Bowl performance is the third best speech in American history, following Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Dr. King's "I Have a Dream." But that love of sports has also combined with a love of writing.

I found in my senior year in high school I had a flair for writing. I discovered a style that works, albeit being slightly offbeat. I honed it at Utica College -- halfway between Syracuse and Albany in Upstate New York -- where I was a communications major.

My first job out of college was as a sports reporter before I went back to school to get a master's degree to become a teacher. I decided to become a teacher after the events of Sept. 11 because I wanted to give back to my beloved country.

I graduated with my masters degree, got married, got laid off from my first teaching job, was hired at a private school, got involved in local politics and then moved to Greenville in 2012. I was hired to work at the Lenoir County Learning Academy and spent four years teaching there before my current job at Ayden-Grifton.

In fact, it was while working at LCLA that I was introduced to a young Junious Smith III when he interviewed me for a class project in which I officially registered as a candidate for President of the United States.

(In case you were wondering, I didn't win.)

Around the same time, a friend of mine told me about his part time job as a sports reporter and he invited me to check it out. So for the last four years, I've covered all sorts of sporting events in and around the Kinston area. I've gotten to meet some wonderful student-athletes, their amazing coaches, and some very supportive parents and fans along the way. 

Now that I am writing for the Neuse News, I can't wait to take my passion for writing to a new level. I am reunited with a lot of friends that I have worked with before, such as the honorable Bryan Hanks and the aforementioned Mr. Smith.

Plus, working for Neuse News will allow me to shed the sobriquet given to me by Mr. Smith ("The Twitterless Scott Cole") and finally become beloved by the athletic staff at Greene Central High School, as I will FINALLY get a Twitter account.

I've enjoyed writing about local sports for the last four years. I have been a part of several wonderful moments. I can;t wait to see what the future holds and what memories have yet to be made.