2018 Members of the ODYSSEY Media Group pose at the University of Georgia Georgia Center for the spring Georgia Scholastic Press Association Workshop and Awards program on April 9. Attendees had the opportunity to participate in journalistic sessions, hear keynote speaker Dominic Brown and to see the state’s top journalism programs recognized. “I was really pleased with the day and particularly proud of (Social Media Coordinator) Elena Webber, who asked to present in the 11th hour,” English department co-chair and OMG adviser David Ragsdale said. “Her session was packed and (Managing Editor) Elena Gilbertson Hall helped facilitate to make sure things went smoothly.” Photo by Juana Gnecco
On April 9, members of the ODYSSEY Media Group attended the Georgia Scholastic Press Association Spring Workshop and Awards banquet at the University of Georgia’s Georgia Center.
Members of the ODYSSEY Media Group joined other student journalists from 17 high school publications across Georgia in attending the Georgia Scholastic Press Association (GSPA) spring workshop and awards banquet at the University of Georgia’s Georgia Center on April 9.
Sophomore and Social Media Coordinator Elena Webber presented a session titled “Journalism in the Age of Social Media.” Managing Editor Elena Gilbertson Hall and Sports Editor Mackenzie Caudill, both juniors, delivered a presentation titled “Convergence Coverage.”
“There (were) a lot of people at the session, and they were really active and engaged,” Webber said. “As I said in my presentation, (social media) is like promoting the whole magazine, your publication, whatever it may be. That’s the whole purpose of doing it, especially because we’re in high school. Social media is the place that people are going to read your stuff and go to the website.”
At the awards banquet, keynote speaker WIS-TV chief meteorologist and UGA alumnus Dominic Brown shared his career story and his tips for success.
It was really inspiring to see a person of color who was in the journalism field, who found something that they really enjoyed. I don’t think I see that often — it was really important for me to see because if he followed his dreams and was successful, then I can, too. — Bria Echols, Morale Chair
“It was really inspiring to see a person of color who was in the journalism field, who found something that they really enjoyed. I don’t think I see that often — it was really important for me to see because if he followed his dreams and was successful, then I can, too,” senior and Morale Chair Bria Echols said. “I loved the fact (that he) was able to make history and also impact his community. It was good to see his journey to where he is now and the mentors he has gained.”
Winners for both the Georgia Champion Journalist and Georgia Junior Champion Journalist competitions were announced at the banquet. Gilbertson Hall was named Junior Champion Journalist and Caudill was named runner-up. Additionally, Senior Copy Editor Valeria Garcia-Pozo was named runner-up Champion Journalist.
“It felt good to win Georgia Junior Champion Journalist because I put a lot of time into working on my portfolio, which was a website I made that was kind of a compilation of all the work I had done over my whole ODYSSEY career — all the stories I’d written, all of the graphics I’d made, leadership I’d shown, the projects I’d worked on, all of those things that I did in ODYSSEY for the past three years all put together on one website,” Gilbertson Hall said.
Also at the awards banquet, freshman and Journalism I student Natalie Schliekelman was recognized as the First Place winner of the First Amendment Essay Contest.
“I was pretty surprised (that I won) because the second and third places were seniors and juniors,” Schliekelman said. “(Winning the contest) will probably make me more likely to enter competitions like these, and it also makes me feel like I’ve contributed to ODYSSEY.”
Variety Editor Emma Ramsay, a Clarke Central High School senior, who has attended journalism conferences since 2016, felt her final conference as a high school student ended on a positive note.
“My last GSPA was definitely memorable. I really enjoyed getting to go with the whole staff one last time to a conference because I feel like we always bond during them,” Ramsay said. “I hope that more schools will come to the conferences to utilize the resources that it provides for young journalists.”
ODYSSEY Online All-Georgia News Website in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
The ODYSSEY Staff “Our Take” All-Georgia House Editorials in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
ODYSSEY Newsmagazine General Excellence Newsmagazine in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
ODYSSEY Online Superior News Website in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
ODYSSEY Newsmagazine Superior Newsmagazine in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Valeria Garcia-Pozo Georgia Champion Journalist First Runner-Up in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
MacKenzie Caudill Georgia Junior Champion Journalist First Runner-Up in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Natalie Schliekelman First Amendment Contest First Place in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Suncana Pavlic “Billy Henderson” All-Georgia Photo Illustration in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Kelly Fulford “Never Again” All-Georgia News Photograph in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Kelly Fulford “Battle weary” All-Georgia Sports Photograph in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Mackenzie Caudill “Jaguars come out on top” All-Georgia Sports Game Coverage in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Mackenzie Caudill “Women’s Sports; Corrupting the process” All-Georgia Sports Column in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Alexander Robinson “Leaving a legacy” All-Georgia Sports Feature Story in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Shea Peters “Sex Education” All-Georgia Critical Review in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association
Colin Frick “Making mock trial” All-Georgia Broadcast Feature News Story in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Everett Vereen “Hot Latin songs” Superior Photo Illustration in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Krista Shumaker “Standing Tall” Superior News Photo in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Lillian Sams “Tortoise and the hare” Superior Editorial Cartoon in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Natalie Ripps “The next step” Superior Sports Feature Story in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Andrea Matta-Castillo “Part-time to full-time” Superior Sports News Story in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Audrey Enghauser “Make America vote again” Superior Commentary in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association
Ana Aldridge “Letter From the Editor” Superior Column Writing in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Emma Ramsay “Coloring outside the lines” Superior Feature Story in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
Elena Gilbertson Hall & Eli Clarke “Before Baldwin” Superior In-Depth News Story in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism during 2018-19 from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association.
