Kristof ‘Promise’ video celebrates value of Oregon education

A new feature video featuring Pulitzer-prize winning New York Times columnist and author Nicholas Kristof debuted today on “The Promise of Oregon” website.

Kristof, an Oregon native and graduate of Yamhill Carlton High School, often refers to education as “an escalator to opportunity.” He expounds on that theme in the video, discussing poverty worldwide and close to home, and how an investment in education pays dividends for everyone.

“If we care about the health of our communities, there’s no better way of preserving that than by investing in our schools and in our kids,” he says.

He also explores his Oregon roots. Kristof took up journalism as a teenager in the Willamette Valley, then went on to study at Harvard and Oxford.

His studies propelled him to a career that has been nothing less than stellar. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes (one shared with his wife, Cheryl WuDunn), traveled to more than 150 countries and written best-selling books. He has advocated for the poor and forgotten around the globe, and shined a light on the slavery and abuse of women.

In a recent column and in a similar one in 2011, Kristof argues that the education escalator has broken down in the United States.

Through his involvement with the “Promise” campaign, however, Kristof is helping celebrate the accomplishments of Oregon students and demonstrating the need to invest in education so that their escalator will carry them to a brighter future.