ODYSSEY Media Group 2016-2017 Annual Banquet

Odyssey Media Group

AWARDS BANQUET 2016-17

ODYSSEY is a place where the the things that I care about really matter. It’s a place where students are challenged more than any other academic setting, because the bare minimum of our abilities are not accepted. It’s a place where we have the opportunity to face our weaknesses head on and overcome them. Most importantly, ODYSSEY is a place where people make each other feel cared about.

Valeria Garcia-Pozo, News Editor, ODYSSEY Online

ODYSSEY is far from your average class, it is much more than just a class. It teaches you life skills that will benefit you long after high school. In my years of being on ODYSSEY, I have grown enormously as a person. I have had numerous experiences that had I not joined the class I wouldn’t have had. In ODYSSEY I was able to discover my passion for photography and develop my skills for photography.

Julie Alpaugh, Visuals Coordinator, ODYSSEY MEDIA GROUP

I started off doing ODYSSEY because I wanted to look “impressive.” But that was three years ago. Now, I do ODYSSEY because I love people. I love the people in this program and it is an honor to work with them every day. I love the people in this school and being able to sit down with students, teachers, and everyone in between, to hear their stories-- and this is exactly how I get to do that.

Olivia Ripps, Sports Editor, ODYSSEY Online

Banquet Agenda

Slideshow

Word of Introduction & Welcome

Introduction of Students, Families and Guests

Film Presentation

Dinner

Keynote Speaker

DR. DAVID WELCH SUGGS, JR.,

Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication

iliad & ODYSSEY Awards

Special Recognition Awards

Senior Farewell Speeches

Welcome to the 14th annual CCHS Journalism Banquet. I’m pleased to have you with us this evening as we celebrate individual and staff achievements. Without fear of contradiction, I can honestly say this has been an interesting year for us. I realize “interesting” is a loaded word, but I have no other way to describe it.

We’ve had a blast through working football games, hosting our silent auction at the Lyndon House, attendance at local, regional and national conferences, production of quality magazines, broadcast features and web content. Likewise, we moved into a new space for production, which included storage solutions and office space. We welcomed new teammates and worked diligently to continue to grow and evolve.

Yet, we also faced a tragic accident to a beloved team leader, which has undeniably shaken our entire group. I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the impact this tragedy has had on all of us. While she cannot be with us tonight, Karla Dougan and her family remain in our thoughts.

It has been interesting to see young people find their way this year, as well as to see new and unexpected talents surface. It’s been interesting to watch young leaders work through their respective growing pains as they learned to establish their own core values. My ever-present hope is that these challenges allowed our students to develop a greater sense of resilience. Further, my hope is our interesting year has offered time for reflection, growth and belief in one another.

Beyond a time for reflection, this banquet allows space for gratitude. Our students are keenly aware that without the supportive adults who contribute to this program, we would be lost. I would like to offer many

thanks to all the parents who’ve helped to pitch in with snacks, lunches, dinners, car rides, hours at University of Georgia football games, service as chaperons at trips and support for your kids’ journalistic endeavors. Additionally, we are grateful to our school administration for the time and transparency they offer us and to our supportive school district and Board of Education who allow us to do the work we believe in.

Booster Co-Chairs, Julie Lawrence and RuthElizabeth Conine. Additionally, thanks to Rebecca Shultz, Cristina Aurrecoechea and Scott Dougan, Julie and Scott Lawrence, Bryn Adamson, Dr. Kecia Thomas, Kristy Mayfield, and Windy Vereen for their committee leadership. We also owe thanks to Lorinda Crane for planning and helping to pull this event together. Special thanks also to Eleanor Sams for her work on the program you’re presently reading, as well as to Kate Kohler for her contributions to this evening’s script. I’d also like to thank Julie Alpaugh for the compilation of tonight’s slide show and many thanks to Killan Griffin for tonight’s film.

I’m also thankful to have Dr. David Welch Suggs, Jr. with us this evening as our keynote speaker. Dr. Suggs has donated his expertise to the Clarke Central Journalism community for several years now and I’m excited he’ll be able to share his wisdom with all of us tonight.

I’d also like to recognize the hard work of the students this year in the Journalism classes and on the iliad staff. Truly, without them, we’d not be here to celebrate. Please join me in congratulating these talented students for a job well done this year!

David A. Ragsdale, Adviser

Odyssey Media Group

We’ve had a blast through working football games, hosting our silent auction at the Lyndon House, attendance at local, regional and national conferences, production of quality magazines, broadcast features and web content. Likewise, we moved into a new space for production, which included storage solutions and office space. We welcomed new teammates and worked diligently to continue to grow and evolve.

David Ragsdale, Adviser

Good evening everyone, and thank you for coming to this year’s closing banquet! Tonight we are here to celebrate the hard work our staff has done this year and the growth we have made as a media group.

Each year on the ODYSSEY has been different.

This year has been a year of growth for all of our publications. For the first time, there was not one, but two junior Editors-inChief. Together, we have experienced ups and downs, from producing meaningful and hard-hitting content to enduring heartache as a staff.

With a young group of students, we have expanded our horizons this year from publishing our first all-color magazine to increasing our interactivity on the website. As young Editors-inChief, we have grown into our leadership positions and solidified bonds with our fellow staffers--both new and old. We have each sought to leave a mark on this program, and are still investing in the future, even as the year draws to a close.

We have much to be proud of this year. While winning multiple state, regional and national awards is exciting, we are more excited by the progress and creativity we’ve seen in our staff this year.

A young staff poses its challenges, but being able to provide a nurturing, collaborative environment for talented students as they first step into the building has been a new point of pride for our program.

Next year, we look forward to continuing our journey in ODYSSEY with the program’s first convergence model, combining our classrooms to include all of our publications.

Lastly, we would like to thank our parents, volunteers and booster club members who have gone above and beyond to provide us with the tools we need to succeed.

We hope that you enjoy the evening and all of the great accomplishments we have to display this year, as well as the nine seniors who have greatly impacted our program and contributed to the ODYSSEY Media Group’s legacy.

Lucia Bermudez and Aneesa Conine-Nakano, ODYSSEY Newsmagazine and ODYSSEY Online Editors-in-Chief

Good evening and welcome to the 2017 ODYSSEY Media Group end-of-year banquet.

The iliad Literary-Art Magazine is the sister publication of the ODYSSEY, and unlike our hard-news counterparts, we are dedicated to creative works from the Clarke Central student body. We strive to publish a wide variety of people from all grade levels and backgrounds and to highlight the written, visual and sometimes musical pieces they create. It’s hard work, but we are passionate about the arts and giving our peers the opportunity to express themselves.

I only officially joined the iliad staff this year, but I have been submitting my work and admiring the final magazines since freshman year. I was on ODYSSEY for three years, so I worked closely alongside iliad leaders and saw what they did. Ultimately, I decided that for my senior year, I would dedicate myself primarily to the iliad.

As Editor-in-Chief, I was amazed at how creative and talented my classmates are. The Leadership Team and I spent hours putting a magazine together, and in doing so, formed a unique bond. And within the school, I’ve visited classes and conferenced with students and received some amazing submissions. It has been exhilarating to see what students here can do.

Internally, I got to work with an incredible staff of around 15, which is the largest it has been since I started high school. I helped them grow as creators and they helped me grow as a leader. Most of them are young, so I hope these talented, passionate folks will be returning to the program. They have the potential to bring this magazine to new heights in the coming years.

The work we have all put into this magazine has paid off more than I could have expected, and none of us could have done it alone. So tonight, I want to thank everyone who made this program possible. Thank you to all staff members, parents, contributors and donors who help give Clarke Central a voice. The iliad is truly something to celebrate.

Sara Goodie, iliad Editor-in-Chief

L

K E Y N O T E S P E A K E R

David Welch Suggs, Jr., joined the Grady College faculty in July 2011 after careers as a journalist, as a policy advocate, and as a university administrator. Suggs began his journalism career at The Kansas City Star, covering the headquarters of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its decision to relocate from Overland Park, Kan., to Indianapolis. He covered sports and energy for the Dallas Business Journal and was part of the original reporting staff at the launch of Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal, where he covered stadium and arena issues, college sports, and women’s sports. The Chronicle of Higher Education hired him to be the newspaper’s lead reporter on college sports in 1998, and in 2002 he was promoted to Senior Editor. He left the Chronicle in 2005 to return to his home state of Georgia and published his first book, “A Place on the Team: The Triumph and Tragedy of Title IX” (2005) with Princeton University Press.

From 2005 to 2007, Suggs served as Associate Director for the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics while working on a Ph.D. in higher education policy at UGA’s Institute of Higher Education. In 2007, University of Georgia President Michael F. Adams hired Suggs for his staff to liaise with the UGA Athletic Association, the NCAA, the Office of University Architects and other units on campus. In 2011, Suggs moved to the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication as a visiting scholar to help launch the college’s program in sports media. The following year, he was hired on a permanent basis as Associate Professor along with Vicki Michaelis, the John H. Carmical Chair of Sports Journalism and Society, and the two developed the Grady Sports Media undergraduate certificate program.

In 2016, Suggs was co-PI on an interdisciplinary UGA team that was awarded a $400,000 grant in the Mind Matters Challenge, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and the NCAA to develop new interventions to improve treatment of concussions among student-athletes. His other research interests include college athletics, how members of the sports media work with sources, and sexual assault and the media.

David Welch Suggs, jr.

I was one of only two freshmen on staff my first year. It was overwhelming and I had to figure out how to shape my identity following my sister who was the Editor-in-Chief. I have grown enormously as a person. Looking back three years, I would never have been able to do the work I do today. ODYSSEY helped me find my love for photography and videography and I can say I have developed enormously in these areas. I have had the chance to learn and grow myself and watched my staffers do the same.

Julie Alpaugh, Media Group Visuals Coordinator

My experience in ODYSSEY has been the most important stepping stone of my high school career. Through the guidance of older mentors, Mr. Ragsdale, and my peers, I have developed a passion and skills that I will now take with me to college and to my career. In ODYSSEY, I learned to be a good leader, communicator, photographer and writer. I perceive the world differently now. I have begun to observe my surroundings more closely, noticing key details while I compose potential images and arranging “shots” in my mind. I am not afraid to address strangers anymore. And I am not afraid to question issues anymore.

Sophie Fernandes, ODYSSEY Newsmagazine Managing Editor

I’ve learned a lot from my experience in ODYSSEY and now as the Editor-in-Chief of the iliad Literary-Art Magazine. Mostly, I’ve learned about people. I figured out how to work with all different characters and persevere through my own reformations. I’ve learned what works for me and what doesn’t, and what I as a leader can offer those around me. I’m so proud of the work my team and I have done through iliad.

I can’t wait to see what my fellow seniors go on to do in the real world, and to come back and see what the iliad becomes once new leadership takes over.

Sara Goodie, iliad Literary-Art Magazine Editor-in-Chief

I’ve been on both the ODYSSEY and the iliad Literary-Art Magazine staffs. For ODYSSEY, a Viewpoints writer and now the Online Opinions Editor, and for the iliad, the Writing Director and now the Visuals Coordinator. Though these publications differ greatly, my variety of experiences in both of them have been paramount to my time in high school. They have shown me the importance of connecting with people and telling their stories, responsibility, and passing on this incredible legacy of excellence.

Madeline Hall, Online Opinions Editor/iliad Visuals Coordinator

I joined ODYSSEY as a sophomore because I was interested in writing. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was excited. It was definitely more than I thought it would be. I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of the web and print staffs, which gave me a chance to learn every aspect of the process that goes into running a website or a magazine. I knew I loved to write, but I didn’t know how

good I could be or if I was even sure I wanted to do this type of work forever. Through ODYSSEY, I got the confirmation I needed to go forward with my dreams of being a news reporter. ODYSSEY is my home and as I fly away from the nest, I’ll always cherish the memories and friends I made as I grew into the journalist I am today.

Kennae Hunter, Variety Staff Writer

Having been both a staff member and the managing editor of the iliad LiteraryArt Magazine over the past three years, I have had the benefit of being part of a club that is bigger than weekly meetings and bigger than the words of any one individual. At a school that is largely divided, the iliad Literary-Art Magazine works to bring students and their unique experiences together. I’ve been fortunate enough to participate in this experience and along the way have learned accountability and leadership skills that have greatly impacted who I am and the work I do today.

Elizabeth Jurado, iliad Literary-Art Magazine Managing Editor

I joined ODYSSEY as a senior after I transferred to Clarke Central High School. I didn’t know much about the program, other than from an alumna who shared her experiences with me. My first couple of weeks were quite overwhelming, and I had plenty of mixed feelings for the publication until I found myself on Broadcast staff. ODYSSEY taught me plenty about work ethic, patience and what it means to be professional, much more than most people my age.

Lorena Limongi, Broadcast staffer

You can take away our awards. You can take away our pens, pencils, and paper. You can even take away our classroom and you might wonder what the ODYSSEY publication is without those things. We’re a family, we love each other, and we have each other’s back. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I stepped foot in Room 114 for the first time, but I can honestly say that joining this publication was one of the best decisions I made in my high school career. I’m going to miss my staff and I’m going to miss Ragsdale most of all, either making me mad or making me laugh (there was no in between.) I love you, guys!

Adrienne Lumpkin, ODYSSEY Public Relations/Business Manager

While I might not be the most experienced person on the iliad Literary-Art Magazine staff, I have gained a lot from joining as a senior. iliad is a place where I feel that I can truly express myself to and amongst my peers with total freedom, and while some things might not make it into the final publication, I think iliad is an important place to have for people to express themselves. iliad’s biggest asset is how focused it is on our school’s community, as well as the autonomy that we are granted. It feels like the only school organization I’ve been a part of that is truly student-run, and I love it for that. Joining iliad is one of the best decisions I’ve made my senior year.

Joseph Mullen, iliad staff member

The ODYSSEY Media Group belongs to several high school journalism organizations. Participation ranges from attending annual events and summer workshops to submitting numerous items for judging and evaluation. A summary of these organizations follows:

COLUMBIA SCHOLASTIC PRESS ASSOCIATION (CSPA), founded in 1925, unites student editors and faculty advisers--working with them to produce student newspapers, magazines, yearbooks and online media. Students come from public, private and churchrelated schools and colleges throughout the United States and from overseas schools. The association is owned by Columbia University and operates as a program affiliated with its prestigious Graduate School of Journalism. A few ODYSSEY staff members have enjoyed attending CSPA summer workshops in New York.

THE GEORGIA SCHOLASTIC PRESS ASSOCIATION (GSPA) assists Georgia high school journalism programs and students by encouraging their production of quality publications through instruction and contests. GSPA was organized in 1928 by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia, which has continued to direct its activities, providing information through the newsletter and instruction through convention sessions, judging, speakers upon request and fall workshop sessions. This year the GSPA conference was held at UGA and again, most of our students were able to attend.

THE NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC PRESS ASSOCIATION (NSPA) is a nonprofit membership organization exclusively for high school and other secondary school publications-yearbooks, newspapers, magazines, broadcast programs and online publications. Since 1921, NSPA has offered its members resources to help their publications improve, including national high school journalism conventions, prestigious contests and scholarships, a publication service and much more.

THE QUILL AND SCROLL SOCIETY is a high school honor society devoted to fostering interest and excellence in the field of journalism. It has member chapters in all 50 states and in 44 countries around the world. Quill and Scroll fulfills its mission by awarding scholarships and sponsoring contests.

THE SOUTHERN INTERSCHOLASTIC PRESS ASSOCIATION (SIPA) is a nonprofit organization of public schools, including middle, junior and senior high schools. Its purpose is to encourage a high degree of professionalism in scholastic journalism and mass communications in the Southeast. Founded at Washington and Lee University in 1926, SIPA moved to the University of South Carolina in 1972. Members are from District of Columbia and 15 states- Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. CCHS was well represented in Columbia, SC with most of our students in attendance.

2016-2017 ODYSSEY and iliad Recognition

Columbia Scholastic Press Association

YEAR RECIPIENT AWARD

2016 Lela Jenkins

1st place, Single page design

2016 Emily Watson 3rd Place, double-truck design

2016 Julie Alpaugh

2016 Lela Jenkins

2016 Sophie Fernandes

2016 Mara Bastow

3rd Place, Single news feature photograph

Certificate of Merit, typography on one page or spread

Certificate of Merit, essays

Certificate of Merit, experimental fiction

2016 iliad Gold Medalist/All-Columbia

2016 ODYSSEY Newsmagazine/ ODYSSEY Online Hybrid News Crown

2016 ODYSSEY Newsmagazine Gold Medalist/All-Columbia

National Council of Teachers of English

YEAR RECIPIENT AWARD

2016 iliad Program to Recognize Excellence Student Literary Magazines, Superior rank

National Scholastic Press Association

YEAR RECIPIENT AWARD

2016 ODYSSEY Newsmagazine

All-American with Marks of Distinction, Coverage, Content, Visuals and Text

2016 ODYSSEY Newsmagazine Pacemaker finalist

2016 ODYSSEY Newsmagazine Best in Show, eighth place

2017 ODYSSEY Online

All-American with 4 Marks of Distinction, coverage/content, interactivity/community, breaking news and rich media

2017 ODYSSEY Online Pacemaker finalist

2016 iliad

1st place with 2 Marks of Distinction, writing and editing

2016 iliad Best in Show, seventh place

2016 Kevin Mobley

2016 Zoe Peterson

2016 Zoe Peterson and Flora Lechtreck

Story of the Year -- News Story, third

Sports Multimedia Story of The Year, seventh

Sports Multimedia Story of The Year, ninth

YEAR RECIPIENT

Georgia Scholastic Press Association

AWARD

2016 iliad Literary Magazine General Excellence competition of the Georgia Scholastic Press Association, superior

2016 iliad

2016 Jared Warner

2016 Lela Jenkins

2016 Ella Sams

2016 Ella Sams

2016 Lela Jenkins

2016 Tierra Hayes

2016 Luke Slaboda

All-Georgia

All-Georgia, Short story, “The Leaky Faucet”

All-Georgia, Spread design, “Divide”

All-Georgia Cover design, “Axis”

Superior Artwork, “Cognizant”

Superior Spread Design, “Arrived”

Superior Poetry, “Whatever I Wanted”

Superior Photography, “Waterfall”

2016 Sara Goodie Superior Short Story, “Born to Hate”

2017 Johanna Hall

Junior Champion Journalist

2017 Sophie Fernandes Georgia Champion Journalist

2016-17 ODYSSEY Newsmagazine

2016-17 ODYSSEY Newsmagazine

2016-17 ODYSSEY Online

2016-17 Sunčana Pavlić

2016-17 Johanna Hall

2016-17 Johanna Hall

2016-17 Katy Mayfield and Kevin Mobley

2016-17 Julie Alpaugh

2016-17 Zoe Peterson

2016-17 Julie Alpaugh

2016-17 Emma Ramsay

2016-17 Hannah Gale

2016-17 Lucia Bermudez and Owen Churchwell

2016-17 Johanna Hall

2016-17 Lucia Bermudez

2016-17 Emma Ramsay

2016-17 Katy Mayfield

2016-17 Valeria Garcia-Pozo

2016-17 ODYSSEY Staff

General Excellence Newsmagazine

Superior

Superior

Superior in Advertising Design

All Georgia Advertising Design

Superior Infographic

Superior Infographic

All Georgia Feature Photograph

Superior Sports Photograph

Superior Sports Photograph

All Georgia Caption Writing

Superior Sports Column

Superior Sports Feature Story

Superior Sports Feature Story

All Georgia Sports Feature Story

All Georgia Sports News Story

Superior Commentary

All Georgia Commentary

Superior House Editorial- “Our Take”

2016-17 Gabriel Mantione-Holmes and Katy Mayfield Superior Opposing Viewpoints Column“Head to Head”

2016-17 Sophie Fernandes

2016-17 Hannah Gale

2016-17 Aneesa Conine-Nakano

2016-17 Grace Polaneczky

2016-17 Katy Mayfield

2016-17 Andrew Caldwell and Kevin Mobley

2016-17 Kevin Mobley

2016-17 Mackenzie Caudill

2016-17 Valeria Garcia-Pozo

2016-17 Ana Aldridge

2016-17 Zoe Peterson

2016-17 Kelly Fulford

Superior Column Writing- “Boiling Point”

Superior Feature Profile

Superior Feature Profile

Superior Feature Story

All Georgia Feature Story

Superior In-depth News Story

All Georgia In-depth News Story

Superior News Story

Superior News Story

All Georgia News Story

Superior Sports Package

All Georgia Sports Package

2016-17 Karla Dougan and Zoe Peterson

2016-17 Julie Alpaugh and Ana Aldridge

2016-17 Karla Dougan

2016-17 Kiki Griffin

Superior Production

Superior Feature Package

Superior News Package

Superior News Package

Southern Interscholastic Press Association

YEAR RECIPIENT AWARD

2017 iliad Scroggins

2017 Odyssey Newsmagazine Scroggins

2017 Odyssey Online Scroggins

2017 Odyssey Newsmagazine

Best in State

2017 iliad All Southern

2017 Odyssey Newsmagazine All Southern

2017 Odyssey Online All Southern

2017 Ashley Lawrence

Best in Show, Editorial Cartoon

2017 Ashley Lawrence Best in Show, Illustration

2017 Julie Alpaugh and Lucia Bermudez

Best in Show, Newsmagazine cover/front page

2017 Jurnee Louder Best in Show, Entertainment page

2017 Sunčana Pavlić

2017 Zoe Peterson

2017 ODYSSEY staff (Katy Mayfield)

2017 Suncana Pavlic

2017 Ayla Dartez

2017 Maddie Rose Hall

2017 Andrew Caldwell and Kevin Mobley

2017 Kevin Mobley

2017 Sophie Fernandes

2017 Emma Ramsay

2017 Aneesa Conine-Nakano

Best in Show, Computer graphics

Best in Show, Environmental portrait

1st Place, Staff editorial

1st Place, Alternative storytelling

Place, Blog

Place, Reviews

News story

Place, Investigative story

Place, Prose Non-Fiction

Place, Review

Place, Alternative storytelling

2017 Aneesa Conine-Nakano 3rd Place, Features

2017 Emily Watson and Lela Jenkins

2017 Emily Watson and Lela Jenkins

Award of Merit, Cover

Award of Merit, Gallery spread

2017 Emily Watson and Lela Jenkins Award of Merit, Nonfiction spread

2017 Emily Watson and Lela Jenkins Award of Merit, Poetry spread

2017 Emily Watson and Lela Jenkins Award of Merit, Table of contents

2017 Jurnee Louder Award of Merit, Entertainment page

2017 Hannah Gale and Julie Alpaugh

2017 Katie Grace Upchurch

2017 Julie Alpaugh

2017 Julie Alpaugh

2017 Valeria Garcia-Pozo

2017 Connor McCage

2017 Delia Adamson, Katie Grace Upchurch, Katy Mayfield and Kennae Hunter

Award of Merit, Sports page

Award of merit, Computer graphics

Award of merit, Sports photo

Honorable mention, Club photo

1st Place, Grammar Guru competition

1st Place, Review Writing competition

Best Overall, Newspaper Team On-site Production competition

2016 Delia Adamson, Katie Grace Upchurch, Katy Mayfield and Kennae Hunter Best Design, Newspaper Team On-site Production competition

2017 Sunčana Pavlić and Emma Crane Best Captions, Photography Team On-site Production competition

2017 Sara Goodie, Gabriel Mantione-Holmes, Katie Grace Upchurch and Everett Vereen 2nd Place Quiz Bowl Competition

Lorien Awards

The Lorien Awards, established by the Campbell family, are given annually. Lorien is a 2006 CCHS graduate who loves poetry and the arts. For the past several years, her family sought to award the top poetry, prose, art and photography in each year’s magazine. Writers will be invited to read an excerpt of their winning pieces and visuals winners’ work is displayed here and in the 2017 iliad.

Best Prose: Luis Garcia, Slim Chances

Best Poem: Delia Adamson, Absence

Best Photo: Karla Dougan, Inhale (below)

Best Art: Kri Hair, Burning Forest (cover)

Photo by: Karla Dougan

Aside from all of the personal benefits of joining, such as learning how to create a portfolio, building interviewing and conversational skills, and of course, bettering my writing, the ODYSSEY has given me the opportunity to meet some amazing people, and most of all, learn a lot about myself in the process.

Lucia Bermudez, Editor-in-Chief, ODYSSEY Newsmagazine

The general consensus of the class is that your writing ability but, pour moi, it was so much more than that. It was a space I finally found where I could succeed in artistically in the small constraints of class schedules students are offered. I was able to work with photography, photoshop, illustrator and other visual endeavors. Also, the shy timid girl that entered this program has grown into a sociable public speaker. But above all, I have been given a family through this program who understand the work ODYSSEY by working together to accomplish our main goal: inform the CCHS community.

Suncana Pavlic, ODYSSEY Online Managing Editor

Being on ODYSSEY has taught me about the real world. It is stressful and time consuming, but everything about it is worth it because the people in this program become your family and they are here to help you grow and are here to help you challenge yourself. At the end of the day, the stories we write, the people we meet and the magazine we put out are the reasons that Room 231 is different than any other room in the building.

Hannah Gale, ODYSSEY Newsmagazine Sports Editor

We are given the privilege of telling people’s stories and have the duty to report it fairly. That kind of responsibility cannot be forgotten. More so than anything, we form a family. Whether it be having dinner during a late workday or banding together during trying times, I know every single staffer has my back and vice-versa.

Aneesa Conine-Nakano, ODYSSEY Online Editor-in-Chief

I love a good challenge. I love pushing my limits. I love testing my strength. I love the adrenaline rush. I love succeeding, and if I fail, I love working towards succeeding. I love a good challenge. And honestly, ODYSSEY was my biggest challenge yet. It has never been easy for me. Throughout my three years, I’ve struggled, I’ve fought, I’ve cried. But, I’ve also laughed, and thrived and loved. Honestly, it was an emotional roller coaster most times. But with this program, you have to throw your hands up and enjoy the ride. Thanks to this program, I’ve learned more about what I want to do and who I want to be. ODYSSEY was a catalyst for my reflections on who I am. I can’t say that I’ve reached this level of self-awareness in any other program.I don’t always know where I’m going and that can be scary. But, through thick and thin, I’ve always decided to stick with ODYSSEY. What can I say? I love a good challenge.

Jurnee Louder, Variety Editor, ODYSSEY Newsmagazine

Clarke Central High School juniors are collaborating with Jittery Joe’s to plan a fundraiser for our Karla Dougan. The event will take place on May 7 from 4-7 p.m. at the Jittery Joes Roaster. There will be food and music, so come out and support Karla and her family! For more details or information on how to participate, contact Olivia Ripps (oripps@odysseynewsmagazine.net).

Photo of Karla by Julie Alpaugh.

Program contents compiled by

Program designed by Eleanor Sams.

Julie Alpaugh, Emma Crane, Valeria Garcia-Pozo, and David Ragsdale.