Is She REALLY a Mormon?

I've changed jobs recently. For a couple of years I had the privilege of being the assistant principal at CATEC and now I'm at JP Burley Middle School. Of course as soon as faculty and staff learn the name of the new assistant principal they start asking around to find out whatever they can. I would do the same thing to find out what kind of person my new supervisor might be.

When I arrived at CATEC the rumors were flying around about my age (28) and experience (lack of). It was interesting to notice the difference in my interactions with them when they learned that I was really a lot older. In fact it was very amusing because instantly I gained more respect. I guess that two years later I must already look a lot older because I haven't heard rumblings about my age at all...

A week or so ago some of my CATEC friends met up unexpectedly with my new Burley colleagues at a local bar. When Burley folks found out that the other group was from CATEC they asked them for "the dirt" on me. CATEC responded that there isn't any dirt-- that I don't even drink. I'm told that the next question was, "Is she really a Mormon?". I find that to be very interesting. Apparently the most important question wasn't whether I was a good educator, supervisor, or person. It was an incredulous, "Is she really a Mormon?".

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this. Maybe it means nothing. But seriously, is that really the most important thing to find out about a new person?