The first time I visited College Park, I got a parking ticket. In that same visit, I was torn between the downtown restaurant options for lunch. I settled on California Tortilla.

The first time I was in the city, it was to see the university where I would soon start my graduate education in journalism.

Little did I know these experiences all foreshadowed things to come.

There have been many more parking tickets and tough decisions for lunch. And the start of my graduate education in College Park led me to the start of my journalism career in the very same community.

I am thrilled to be starting as editor for the College Park Patch. I’ve learned since arriving here two years ago that it’s a thriving city of passionate residents, ongoing activity and dynamic challenges—the Purple Line construction, development projects, heavy U.S. Route 1 traffic and so on. I am honored to have the opportunity to explore these and more with the city’s residents and leaders.

And I truly mean “with” you. I hope when you all visit Patch, you notice the big “Welcome” mat out front. I want to hear from you in the comments section. I want more bloggers to volunteer their thoughts and experiences. I want more photos from College Park happenings uploaded to the site. I want conversation.

That’s the great thing about Patch: It’s beautifully interactive and a service to the community—even from its very beginning. Patch was the brainchild of Tim Armstrong, now CEO of AOL, who realized that a listing of volunteer opportunities in his community didn’t exist, and that community journalism was scant.

And then Patch was born—a combination of hyper-local reporting and opinion, and an accurate directory of facilities, services and events that Patch takes painstaking measures to maintain.

As a small-town country girl and passionate journalist, how could I not be excited about being a part of this?

In the near future, I plan to schedule regular office hours at various eating establishments about town. This will be a great opportunity to meet all of you and hear your story ideas, or just to enjoy a cup of Joe. I hope you all will consider coming out to “Hi.”

Until then, you can e-mail me at Shannon.Hoffman@Patch.com or call me at 202-255-2263. I also invite you to join the College Park Patch Facebook page and follow @CollegePrkPatch on Twitter.