Members of the ODYSSEY Media Group meet together on a Zoom for Southern Interscholastic Press Association (SIPA) to discuss their first day at the conference. This year’s convention was held online from March 4 through 7 using the virtual conference platform Whova. “Obviously it sucks that we couldn’t be in person (for the convention), but I feel like (Director of Scholastic Media Organizations) Leslie Dennis did a really good job putting everything together for us,” SIPA President, Digital Editor-in-Chief and senior Owen Donnelly said. “It totally wasn’t what I expected, (but) I’m just glad we made the most of it and hopefully other students will be able to enjoy (SIPA) in the future, as well.” Photo by Ireland McCage
Twenty-three ODYSSEY Media Group members attended the Southern Interscholastic Press Association “Rise Up: Convention” on March 4 through 7 through the virtual conference platform Whova.
The SIPA spring convention is a gathering of student journalists and advisers from publications all across the Southeast, aimed at educating attendees about journalism and allowing them to network with other students and professionals from across the country. Four hundred students from 27 schools across the Southeast attended this year’s convention. There were 62 total live and pre-recorded sessions available which covered topics from journalism ethics to how to write breaking news.
“It was a learning experience about the institutions of journalism that are built after high school, and what might happen if you want to focus on journalism after high school and how to do that.”
— Antonio Starks,
CCHS sophomore and Variety Writer
Even though the convention was held virtually this year, the core principles and lessons remained the same according to CCHS sophomore and Variety Writer Antonio Starks.
“It was a learning experience about the institutions of journalism that are built after high school, and what might happen if you want to focus on journalism after high school and how to do that,” Starks said.
Illustrator Lilli Sams, a CCHS senior, felt that there were many positives to the virtual twist on this convention.
“(The convention) was definitely different than (it was) in person. The nice part about (being virtual) was in person it can be a little bit overwhelming at times, just because of how (many competitions) you have (the option) to do and how many classes you go to,” Sams said.
Digital Managing Editor Ireland McCage, a CCHS junior, also feels that there were benefits to the convention being virtual, and appreciated the additional opportunities to engage with the sessions.
“I like being able to watch the sessions at any time,” McCage said. “I’m not limiting myself to whatever sessions I have time to attend. Now (that they are recorded), I can watch all of them.”
While there were a number of benefits to having a virtual convention, veterans of the OMG were afraid that it would be harder to forge connections between Journalism 1 students and older ODYSSEY members considering the remote divide.
“This year, we haven’t had a chance to be all together as a program and bridge the gap (between younger and older students), which is unfortunate,” Journalism 1 Facilitator and Photography Editor Luna Reichert, a CCHS junior, said. “I think this can be an opportunity for the (Journalism 1) kids that did attend (SIPA) to work a little bit more with Production and feel a little bit more (like a part of) the program.”
A spread created for the 2021 Southern Interscholastic Press Association convention’s literary-art magazine Team On-Site Production competition is displayed. This spread, created by Kaija Gilbertson Hall, Lucy Hines, Natalie Ripps and Lillian Sams, won Best Visual Elements and Best Overall in the SIPA’s 2021 literary-art magazine TOP competition. “My (TOP team) had me draw, so I did an online painting of a cityscape. Natalie and Lucy made a two page spread and Kaija wrote a poem,” Sams said. “And (then) we just put it all together. We did a good job, and we (two) awards for it, so that was good.” Illustration by Lilli Sams
Along with the sessions, students participated in the Team On-Site Production (TOP) competition. Students were assigned teams of two-to-four by OMG adviser David Ragsdale, and raced against a deadline to complete a fully edited and produced media product. OMG students fielded a literary magazine team, two newsprint teams, two online news teams and a photography team.
“(My online media TOP) was kind of stressful, obviously, because it’s a very strict deadline. I’ve written a few stories pretty quickly, and it’s (tough), but there’s no hard deadline. Here, there’s a hard deadline where you have to turn it in by this time, on this night,” Webmaster and CCHS senior Micah Shannon said. “That makes it a little bit more stressful because you can’t really move (the deadline) around. But it was pretty fun, (and) I enjoyed it.”
In addition to TOP competitions, OMG students took part in Quiz Bowl, a long-standing tradition for CCHS students at SIPA.
“Quiz Bowl, which is a trivia set of rounds based on journalistic trivia, current events, AP style, that kind of (journalistic questioning), is really fun,” Lead Copy Editor Audrey Enghauser, a CCHS junior, said. “Every year we get to play with a few teams from our staff.”
The competition was smaller this year compared to previous Quiz Bowls, with only four total temas. Enghauser, Shannon, SIPA President and Digital Editor-in-Chief Owen Donnelly, a senior, and News Editor Natalie Schliekelman, a junior, won the championship title after two rounds of gameplay.
“I think we had a great, well-rounded team. Everyone knew enough of the content, and was confident enough in their knowledge to buzz in quickly and get a lot of questions right,” Shannon said.
Looking ahead for next year, Ragsdale advises the next generation of ODYSSEY members to attend.
“Virtual, face-to-face or even hybrid, the format doesn’t matter to me — I want our students to have the opportunity to interact with each other and those engaged in scholastic journalism from across the country,” Ragsdale said. “The experience provides meaningful context and perspective you just can’t get in the classroom.”
Scroggins Award: Best of South
Newsprint – ODYSSEY
Best of Show at SIPA
News, First Place – ODYSSEY
Online media, First Place – ODYSSEY Media Group
Literary magazine, First Place – iliad
Literary Magazine, Cover – First Place: Beatrice Acheson
Literary Magazine, Table of Contents – First Place: Beatrice Acheson
Literary Magazine, Fiction – First Place: Theron Camp
Literary Magazine, Gallery Spread – First Place: Beatrice Acheson
Newsprint, Editorial Column – First Place: Shea Peters
Newsprint, Entertainment/Feature Column – First Place: Tecoya Richardson
Newsprint, News Feature Story – First Place: Audrey Enghauser
Newsprint, News Story – First Place: Maya Cornish
Newsprint, Sports Column – First Place: Alexander Robinson
Newsmagazine, Feature Package – First Place: Natalie Schliekelman
Newsmagazine, OP/ED Package – First Place: Maya Cornish
Online, Portfolio – First Place: Ireland McCage
Cutline, Sports cutline – First Place: Grace Lang
Literary Magazine, Nonfiction – Second Place: Jillian Akers
Literary Magazine, Poetry Spread – Second Place: Beatrice Acheson
Literary Magazine, Poetry – Second Place: Anonymous
Newsprint, Personality Profile – Second Place: Andrew Robinson
Newsprint, Review – Second Place: Luna Reichert
Newsprint, Sports Story – Second Place: Gretchen Hinger
Newsmagazine, In-depth Package – Second Place: Naomi Hendershot
Online, Investigative Story – Second Place: Audrey Enghauser
Online, Opinion Piece – Second Place: Emma Scott
Online, Portfolio – Second Place: Owen Donnelly
Cutline, News cutline – Second Place: Gretchen Hinger
Literary Magazine, Fiction Spread – Third Place: Beatrice Acheson
Newsprint, Entertainment/Feature Column – Third Place: Natalie Ripps
Newsprint, Feature Story – Third Place: Audrey Enghauser
Online, Feature Story – Third Place (tie): Tecoya Richardson & Sophia Long
Online, Review – Third Place: Emma Scott
Newsmagazine, Table of Contents – Third Place: Naomi Hendershot
Online, Alternative Storytelling – Third Place: Grace Lang & Ireland McCage
Social Media, Social Media Promotion – Third Place: ODYSSEY Staff
Online, News Story – Honorable Mention: Ireland McCage
Online, Sports News – Honorable Mention: Gretchen Hinger
Grammar Guru Champions – Natalie Schliekelman/Audrey Enghauser
Quiz Bowl Champions – Audrey Enghauser, Micah Shannon, Owen Donnelly & Natalie Schliekelman
Review writing – 1st Place – Lillian Sams
Review writing – Runner-up – Audrey St. Onge
Literary Magazine Team On-site Production competition, Best Visual Elements & Overall – Lucy Hines, Natalie Ripps, Kaija Gilbertson Hall & Lillian Sams
Newsprint Team On-site Production competition, Best Story & Overall – Emma Scott, Audrey Enghauser, Carolina Turner & Anna Shaikun
Online Media Team On-site Production competition, Best Interactive/Visual Element – Gretchen Hinger, Owen Donnelly, Lucas Donnelly & Lukas Cornish
Online Media Team On-site Production competition, Best Written Element & Overall – Ireland McCage, Isaac Ramirez, Micah Shannon & Antonio Starks
Photography Team On-site Production competition, Best Single Image & Caption – Dalila Tejada
Photography Team On-site Production competition, Best Gallery – Luna Reichert & Dalila Tejada
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