Letter From The Editor

Molly Harwell, ODYSSEY Editor-in-Chief

Good afternoon, everyone! Thank you so much for coming to the ODYSSEY and iliad End-of-theYear Banquet for the 2022-23 school year. We are here today to recognize the hard work and dedication that our staff has put in this year and all of the amazing content that they have produced.

This year was definitely a rebuilding year for our staff. Together we shared ups and downs as we navigated the “growing pains” of finding our individual places on staff. However, despite these difficulties, we were able to come out on the other side and produce four quality magazines, along with amazing web-exclusive and social media content, finding ourselves in the process.

In fact, finding myself was the main thing that I struggled with this year. As a young Editor-in-Chief, I struggled with feeling like I was the right fit for the job. Eventually though, as the year went on and my relationship with the staff solidified, I found myself leaving that feeling farther and farther behind. I feel that I have really grown into my position and done my best to leave a positive legacy behind.

Staff-wide, there is so much to be proud of this year. Something that has been instilled in me from the very beginning of my ODYSSEY career is that if one of us wins, we all win, and I can say without a doubt that this year, we have won so many times. Whether it be an award from a conference or just a ring of the bell during class, our staff celebrated it all. I couldn’t be more proud of this team.

I want to give a special thank you to our Booster Club this afternoon. They have worked so diligently this year, and we are so grateful for everything they have contributed to our program, from funding to planning to just general support. Thank you!

I would also like to thank our wonderful parents who have given us the opportunity to engage in this rewarding work, whether that be through providing snacks for after school, volunteering at the UGA concession stand, or just being there for your student. We really appreciate you!

In addition, I would like to thank the Board of Education and our administration for providing us the funding and ability to do what we do every day. Thank you for consistently supporting our program and for giving us access to tell the stories of our school community. We truly could not do it without you.

And lastly, a big thank you to our adviser, Mr. David Ragsdale. Without him, I don’t know if I would have survived this year. We are so thankful for his guidance and patience with us this year.

To everyone who made this year special, whether you are a parent or a student or a patron of the program, I sincerely can’t thank you enough. I can’t wait to see what the future holds next year, and once again, thank you so much everyone for coming!