Students hit their stride at SIPA

Members of the ODYSSEY Media Group, including the production class, Journalism I class and members of the iliad Literary-Art magazine, pose for a picture during the 2023 Southern Interscholastic Press Association’s “Process over Product” convention on March 3. During the convention, OMG students had the opportunity to attend educational sessions, participate in competitions and collaborate in ways they are often unable to do back home. “I have absolutely loved coming to SIPA. It’s been really cool to get to know everybody better, especially all of the Journalism I students. They’re all super cool and it’s been very fun interacting with them outside of the classroom,” Editor-in-Chief Molly Harwell said. Photo by Thatcher Rotenberry

Clarke Central High School students traveled to the Southern Interscholastic Scholastic Press Association convention in Columbia, S.C. from March 3-5.

Over the course of three days, 300 students from six schools across the South came to attend the Southern Interscholastic Scholastic Press Association’s “Process over Product” convention in Columbia, South Carolina.

Among that group were 34 Clarke Central High School students from the ODYSSEY Media Group — including the Production class, Journalism I class and iliad Literary-Art Magazine.

Preconvention classes kicked off at 1:30 pm on March 3, with courses including podcasting, photography, design, storytelling, and an editorial leadership course led by OMG adviser David Ragsdale. Along with students from Kentucky, North Carolina and Georgia, OMG Editor-at-Large Nico Willman attended the class.

“I’ve been to many leadership sessions, but Mr. Ragsdale’s session is the only session that leans heavy into collaboration and conversation between leaders from different publications,” Willman said. “Plus, it’s always refreshing to check in on your leadership style and capabilities, to take a moment and reflect on how you lead and how you could improve.”

To start the official convention, staffers attended a keynote speech by award-winning writer and instructor Bobby Hawthorne. Hawthorne’s session focused on the importance of voice and narrative in storytelling. OMG News Staffer Mykolas Kumpis, a senior and first-year SIPA attendee, feels he is connected with Hawthorne’s creative storytelling.

“The lessons I learned in storytelling and descriptive writing from him were really impactful, and I’ll be trying my best to apply them to my work moving forward,” Kumpis said.

After the keynote session, multiple OMG members presented sessions, including Social Media Staffer Isabelle Duncan and Director of Audience Engagement Aza Khan, who presented the session, “How to Social Media in 2023.” In addition, Viewpoints Editor Jane Ripps and Variety Staffer Miles Lawrence presented the session “Going Below the Surface.”

“I was definitely stressing before the presentation with Aza just because I’ve never presented before, but honestly, it went really great,” Duncan said. “We had a lot of interactive points and it seemed like a lot of people enjoyed it, because we had a bunch of people in our presentation.”

Four CCHS teams competed in the SIPA Quiz Bowl, a competition between publications over questions on Associated Press style, current events, and politics, qualifying round. Competitors included Wyatt Meyer, Maya Clement, Janie Ripps, Maya Shrivastav, Adah Hamman, Molly Harwell, Willman, Kumpis, Isabella Westrich, Cadence Schapker, Anna Shaikun, Lucas Donnelly, Aza Khan, Salai Diekumpuna, Audrey St. Onge, and Luke Shannon.

The second day of the convention began with Khan, the OMG Director of Audience Engagement and a CCHS junior, being named as SIPA’s sole candidate for President. Khan presented her platform to those in attendance.

“Being named SIPA President following my mentor Lucas Donnelly was special to me. He laid a great foundation and I intend to build on it to engage in increased diversity, equity and inclusion through SIPA’s programming,” Khan said.

Following Khan’s speech, attendees reconvened for instructional sessions, including “How to Play a Great Game,” presented by Donnelly, OMG Visuals Coordinator and SIPA President, and Meyer, OMG Sports Editor and a first-time presenter.

“Presenting was a pretty good experience. I had never done that before, so I didn’t really know what to expect. Lucas helped me walk us through it,” Meyer said. “Lucas was sort of my journalistic muse. He’s done this before, he’s presented, so he knew what to expect. He knew the right level of preparation. He knew what he wanted to say and expressed a clear vision that I could follow.”

Day Two also presented staffers with the opportunity to compete in various on-site competitions, including a Grammar Challenge and the Team On-Site Production (TOP) competitions in photography, newspaper and broadcast. Clement, OMG Managing Editor, her participation in newsprint TOP was a learning experience.

“It wasn’t the best story we’ve ever created, but I think the main thing we got from it was a sense of team building and being able to work together,” Clement said. “It was really interesting to learn what everybody’s strengths were and to explore that a little bit more.”

“It wasn’t the best story we’ve ever created, but I think the main thing we got from it was a sense of team building and being able to work together. It was really interesting to learn what everybody’s strengths were and to explore that a little bit more.”

— Maya Clement,
Managing Editor

After the TOP competition closed, all four CCHS Quiz Bowl teams competed, with two teams qualifying for the semifinals on Sunday. For Shaikun, OMG Digital Editor, who competed alongside Donnelly, Schapker, and Westrich as CCHS Team Alpha, advancing to the semifinals was a huge comeback from a poor showing at the National High School Journalism Convention’s Quiz Bowl in Nov. 2022.

“My team at SIPA last year advanced to the second round but not the semifinals, and we didn’t do well at all at NSPA, so I’m glad that we got as far as we did,” Shaikun said. “I don’t think I studied as much as I could have, but I learned more about the type of questions asked and I’m confident I’ll do better next year.”

To start Day Three of the convention, Harwell, OMG Editor-In-Chief, and Clement gave a presentation called “The Ins & Outs of Student Leadership.”

“We had a small crowd but it ended up being really great. I know Maya and I really enjoyed prepping and getting to have the opportunity to present,” Harwell said. “It was really cool and people really seemed to enjoy it.”

Following the morning sessions, the two ODYSSEY Quiz Bowl teams competed in the semifinals, with the CCHS Gold team composed of Meyer, Shrivastav, Ripps and Clement beating Shaikun’s Delta Team by a score of 60-10. The Gold Team faced off against Cedar Shoals High School’s team, which consisted of Aiden Dowling, Gabriel Holcomb, Tumelo Johnson and Marcus Welch, in the final round, falling 30 to 40.

“We pulled through and we got second place all together, so that was great. A bit of a comeback story, we went from last to second. We were definitely kind of nervous about it,” Shrivastav said. “We were just so excited after we made it past that first round, and past the semifinals. There was definitely a lot of team bonding, we got to know everyone better.”

Journalism I students pose for a picture during the 2023 Southern Interscholastic Press Association’s “Process over Product” convention on March 3. During the convention, OMG staff had the chance to bond with each other over the four days. “I thoroughly enjoyed SIPA. It was an immersive experience that allowed me to connect more with staff members on production and learn more about journalism,” Hamman said. Photos by Isabelle Duncan and Aza Khan

Following the Quiz Bowl finals, SIPA Director Leslie Dennis initiated the SIPA Awards ceremony, which recognized on-site winners, writing, visuals and best-in-show winners. CCHS received nearly one hundred awards.

“I won first place for online design portfolio. I was really not expecting that, so I was really pleasantly surprised. But more than that, I really enjoyed getting to cheer my teammates on whenever they won something for their story or photo or design,” Shaikun said. “I was especially excited when we won the best in show awards for the iliad, the newsmag and the website. I was just so proud of everybody.”

For Ragsdale, who has brought CCHS students to SIPA since 2006, the trip is challenging but rewarding for the OMG students.

“I saw a great deal of mentorship with big kids working to help the younger kids. I tried to put together teams based around big kids and their experience, allowing them the space to be leaders,” Ragsdale said. “There were various points when the J1 kids tried to push past their comfort zone and get to know the big kids, (but there were also) some very pleasant moments where the J1 kids just had some downtime with each other and that was great to see.”

Evaluations

The 2022 iliad was as recognized as All-Southern by the Southern Interscholastic Press Association. This is SIPA’s highest evaluation rating. These publications effectively integrate writing, design and photography/art to give readers an excellent record of the school. 

The 2022-23 ODYSSEY Newsmagazine was as recognized as All-Southern by the Southern Interscholastic Press Association. This is SIPA’s highest evaluation rating. These publications effectively integrate writing, design and photography/art to give readers an excellent record of the school. 

The 2022-23 ODYSSEY Media Group was as recognized as All-Southern by the Southern Interscholastic Press Association. This is SIPA’s highest evaluation rating. These publications effectively integrate writing, design and photography/art to give readers an excellent record of the school.  

Staff Awards

Scroggins Award: Best of South

Website – ODYSSEY Media Group

Literary-Art Magazine: iliad

Best of Show at SIPA

• News, First Place – ODYSSEY

• Online media, First Place – ODYSSEY Media Group

• Literary magazine, First Place – iliad 

Individual Awards

Audio Visual, Podcast script – First Place: Salai Diekumpuna & Kaija Gilbertson Hall

Captions, Feature caption – First Place: Chloe Sears

Captions, Feature caption – Third Place: Lucas Donnelly

Captions, News Captions – First Place: Aza Khan 

Captions, News Captions – Third Place: Lucas Donnelly 

Captions, Sports Captions – Second Place: Lucas Donnelly

Literary-Art Magazine, Fiction – First Place: Ayanna Lonon  

Literary-Art Magazine, Fiction – Second Place: Nico Willman

Literary-Art Magazine, Interview/Spotlight – First Place: Kaija Gilbertson Hall & Franni Thrasher

Literary-Art Magazine, Interview/Spotlight – Second Place: Luna Reichert  

Literary-Art Magazine, Personal Essay – First Place: Niles Flath

Literary-Art Magazine, Personal Essay – Second Place: Atticus Barrett

Literary-Art Magazine, Poetry – First Place: Mara Jalease Smith  

Literary-Art Magazine, Poetry – Second Place: Salai Diekumpuna  

Literary-Art Magazine, Song lyrics/music composition – First Place: Wyatt Meyer

Literary-Art Magazine, Cover – First Place: Eva Orbock,   

Literary-Art Magazine, Fiction spread – First Place: Eva Orbock & Audrey St. Onge

Literary-Art Magazine, Fiction spread – Second Place: Eva Orbock & Kira Howard   

Literary-Art Magazine, Gallery Spread – Second Place: Eva Orbock & Treasa McHugh  

Literary-Art Magazine, Gallery Spread – Third Place: Eva Orbock & Amanda Price   

Literary-Art Magazine, Music composition spread – First Place: Eva Orbock, Wyatt Meyer & Itzel Delgado-Torres   

Literary-Art Magazine, Nonfiction spread – First Place: Eva Orbock & Bird Smith  

Literary-Art Magazine, Nonfiction spread – Second Place: Eva Orbock & Connor Allen

Literary-Art Magazine, Poetry spread – First Place: Eva Orbock & Elise Siegmund   

Literary-Art Magazine, Poetry spread – Third Place: Eva Orbock & Temprince Battle   

Literary-Art Magazine, Table of contents – First Place: Eva Orbock  

Literary-Art Magazine, Literary magazine portfolio – First Place: Eva Orbock

Newsprint, Feature Story – Second Place: Isabella Westrich

Newsprint, Investigative Story – Second Place: Sofia Balsamo & Nico Willman 

Newsprint, Investigative Story – Honorable Mention: Emily Couch & Audrey Enghauser 

Newsprint, Review – First Place: Isaac Ramirez 

Newsprint, Review – Second Place: Aza Khan 

Newsprint, Sports Column – First Place: Wyatt Meyer 

Newsprint, Newsprint Portfolio – Second Place: Isabella Westrich

Newsmagazine, Alternative storytelling – First Place: Maya Clement

Newsmagazine, Alternative storytelling – Second Place: Molly Harwell  

Newsmagazine, Cover – Third Place: Molly Harwell

Newsmagazine, Entertainment package – First Place: Maya Clement  

Newsmagazine, Feature package – Third Place: Maya Clement

Newsmagazine, In-depth cover story package – First Place: Molly Harwell & Wyatt Meyer  

Newsmagazine, News package – Third Place: Maya Clement & Molly Harwell  

Newsmagazine, Sports package – First Place: Wyatt Meyer  

Newsmagazine, Sports package – Second Place: Wyatt Meyer  

Newsmagazine, Table of contents – First Place: Molly Harwell  

Newsmagazine, Table of contents – Third Place: Molly Harwell

Newsmagazine, Newsmagazine portfolio (up to four pieces from one individual) – First Place: Maya Clement

Newsmagazine, Newsmagazine portfolio (up to four pieces from one individual) – Third Place: Molly Harwell

Online, Alternative storytelling – Honorable Mention: Audrey St. Onge

Online, Blog – First Place: Maya Shrivastav   

Online, Blog – Second Place: Maya Clement   

Online, Features – Second Place: Riley Ramsey   

Online, Features – Honorable mention: Isabella Westrich   

Online, Personality Feature – Third Place: Lukas Cornish & Natalie Schliekelman   

Online, Personality Feature – Honorable Mention: Nico Willman, Isabella Westrich, Audrey St. Onge, Aza Khan & Natasha Williams   

Online, Review – First Place: Isabella Westrich   

Online, Review – Second Place: Miles Lawrence   

Online, Features package – First Place: Cadence Schapker & Miles Lawrence

Online, Features package – Third Place: Kaija Gilbertson Hall   

Online, News package – First Place: Mykolas Kumpis    

Online, Opinion package – First Place: Antonio Starks, Peter Atchley, Mykolas Kumpis, Maya Shrivastav, Temprince Battle, Victoria Garland and Anna Shaikun    

Online, Photo gallery – Second Place: Kaija Gilbertson Hall & Franni Thrasher   

Online, Podcast – Third Place: Jesse Dantzler    

Online, Sports package – First Place: Antonio Starks, Wyatt Meyer, Riley Ramsey, Lukas Cornish, Aza Khan & Anna Shaikun  

Online, Sports package – Second Place: Wyatt Meyer & Anna Shaikun

Online, Online portfolio – First Place: Anna Shaikun

Art/Graphics, Editorial cartoon – Third Place: Antonio Starks  

Art/Graphics, Illustration – Second Place: Elise Siegmund   

Art/Graphics, Illustration – Third Place: Antonio Starks 

Photography, Creative group shot – First Place: Aza Khan    

Photography, Environmental portrait – Second Place: Aza Khan    

Photography, Sports reaction – First Place: Aza Khan

Social Media, Breaking news – Second Place: Aza Khan    

Social Media, Promotion – Second Place: Aza Khan    

Social Media, Sports coverage – Second Place: Aza Khan    

Social Media, Storytelling – First Place: Aza Khan    

Social Media, Portfolio – First Place: Aza Khan  

Social Media, Portfolio – Second Place: Ollie Hendershot

2023 Convention on-site competition winners:

Literary Magazine Team On-site Production competition, Best Written Element – Salai Diekumpuna

Online Media Team On-site Production competition, Best Interactive/Visual Element & Best package: Nico Willman, Samaya Ellis, Cadence Schapker & Maya Shrivastav

Photography Team On-site Production competition, Best Caption – Miles Lawrence & Temprince Battle

Story by Ciyana Ramos
Story by Abigail Holloway
Packaged by Anna Shaikun