Members of the ODYSSEY Media Group, iliad Literary-Art Magazine and Journalism I class pose for a photo at the Georgia Scholastic Press Association awards ceremony at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing on March 27. Sports Staffer Michael Campbell, a senior, enjoyed the cooperative nature of the conference. “I think (GSPA is) a great event to bring different journalists from across the state and have them experience different workshops, to be able to talk to one another and figure out differences between different magazines,” Campbell said. “Anytime you get a big group of people that love the same thing, getting them in a room where they’re able to talk to one another and really mingle and understand one another, it really does help out their programs as a whole.” Photo by Aza Khan
Members of ODYSSEY Media Group, iliad Literary-Art Magazine and Journalism I class attended the Georgia Scholastic Press Association Spring Workshop and Awards on March 27.
More than 260 students from 12 schools across the state attended the Georgia Scholastic Press Association Spring Workshop and Awards at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education on March 27.
The event began with three rounds of sessions on a variety of journalistic topics. First-time attendee Sports Staffer Michael Campbell found University of Georgia Grady College Assistant Professor Dr. Denetra Walker’s session on social justice reporting engaging.
“I didn’t feel like I was in a classroom. I felt like I was in a place where I could learn and everybody else felt like that as well, just from the energy from the room,” Campbell said. “So I just enjoyed that workshop a lot because of how well she was able to articulate her words and get out what she was trying to say.”
Sports Staffer Michael Campbell, a senior, and Variety Editor Isabella Westrich, a junior, engage in a session at the Georgia Scholastic Press Association Spring Workshop and Awards Ceremony on March 27 at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. Although the workshop was Campbell’s only OMG field trip, GSPA allowed him to reflect on his time in the program and the community within the OMG. “(The OMG) always brings energy anywhere we go. Even in different (sessions), if we were there, we were going to ask questions and bring a lot of fun to it,” Campbell said. “I just love this group and being able to be a part of it is something that I enjoy and will continue to enjoy until I graduate.” Click the photo to view the gallery on our Flickr! Photos by Isabelle Duncan and Ava Khan
Viewpoints Editor Janie Ripps and Variety Staffer Miles Lawrence presented a session on in-depth reporting, while Editor-in-Chief Molly Harwell and Managing Editor Maya Clement presented a session on student leadership. Clement and Harwell saw improvement since their previous presentation of the session at the Southern Interscholastic Press Association convention from March 4-6.
“We had a lot of engagement. We had a lot of people in the audience,” Clement said. “It didn’t go so well at SIPA, so it felt really nice to see it so successful at GSPA, to just be able to get that redemption and present again because we did really enjoy it.”
Following the workshop portion of the event, Greenville, South Carolina’s WYFF News 4 broadcast anchor and reporter Sydney Shadrix presented a keynote speech, focusing on her journey to her current position and the importance of flexibility in life.
“It really resonated with the sense (that) this isn’t just for journalists. This is for life in general, because journalism (skills) can go into many things,” Illustrator and Viewpoints staffer Antonio Starks, a senior, said. “It (made me consider) how there wasn’t one specific way to live life. I liked how she said that her journey to where she’s at wasn’t linear.”
“It really resonated with the sense (that) this isn’t just for journalists. This is for life in general, because journalism (skills) can go into many things. It (made me consider) how there wasn’t one specific way to live life. I liked how she said that her journey to where she’s at wasn’t linear.”
— Antonio Starks,
ODYSSEY Media Group Illustrator
After the keynote speech, the event shifted into an awards ceremony at which the OMG received GSPA’s highest honor, the All-Georgia rating, for the ODYSSEY newsmagazine, the OMG website and the iliad Literary-Art Magazine.
For Clement, who compiled and submitted entries for the competitions, seeing winners recognized for their work was satisfying.
“I know how much effort it takes, how much time and dedication everybody puts into these stories and to see them receive the recognition from a contest, see them receive the award, it just feels absolutely amazing,” Clement said. “The joy on people’s faces just brings so much joy to me and it makes everything seem even more worth it.”
OMG founder and adviser David Ragsdale first brought Clarke Central High School students to GSPA’s spring workshop in 2003. At the close of the event, he reflected on the growth of the OMG program.
“I brought a handful of very cool kids to this event twenty years ago, and it helped spawn the ODYSSEY as we know it today. I give full credit to those young people setting the foundation for today’s success,” Ragsdale said. “I saw that same hunger in so many of the schools at today’s GSPA and I hope their energy continues to push OMG kids to seek new heights, new coverage and new opportunities for growth.”
Staff awards:
The 2022 iliad Literary-Art Magazine received the rating of Superior for General Excellence and received the All-Georgia Literary Magazine (Best in State) award (formally announced in Nov. 2022).
The 2022-23 ODYSSEY Media Group received the rating of Superior for General Excellence and received the All-Georgia News Website (Best in State) award.
The 2022-23 ODYSSEY Newsmagazine received the rating of Superior for General Excellence and received the All-Georgia Newsmagazine (Best in State) award.
Individual awards:
Maya Clement was named Georgia Champion Junior Journalist in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association on March 7, 2023.
Anna Shaikun was named Georgia Champion Junior Journalist Runner-Up in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholastic journalism from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association on March 7, 2023.
All-Georgia Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Sports Column, “Tell Me, Wy”: Wyatt Meyer
All-Georgia Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Sports Game Coverage, “Game Coverage: CCHS vs CSHS”: Wyatt Meyer
All-Georgia Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Sports Feature Story, “Football’s In The Family”: Wyatt Meyer
All-Georgia Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Sports News Story, “Strengthening Central”: Gretchen Hinger
All-Georgia Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Sports Photo, “ZOOM”: Lucas Donnelly
All-Georgia Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Feature/Entertainment Photo, “Like His Big Brother”: Temprince Battle
All-Georgia Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: House Editorial, “Our Take”: Staff
All-Georgia Literary Magazine: Photograph, “Canyoneering”: Caroline Orbock
All-Georgia Literary Magazine: Spread Design, “A Warm Spring Rain/Tau”: Eva Orbock, Bird Smith, Niles Flath
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Social Justice Reporting, “Revisiting gaps between Glads”: Gretchen Hinger
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Sports Package, “Revisiting gaps between Glads”: Gretchen Hinger
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Sports Column, “Regaining Power”: Gretchen Hinger
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Sports Feature Story, “Revisiting Perno’s Playbook”: Gretchen Hinger
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Sports News Story, “Central takes the flag”: Cadence Schapker
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Sports Game Coverage, “CCHS boys varsity soccer”: Lukas Cornish
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Feature Writing, “Rooted In Community”: Isabella Westrich
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Feature Profile, “Cultivating A Dream”: Isabella Westrich
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: News Story, “Double Dawgs”: Molly Harwell
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: In-depth News Story, “Desensitized to Danger”: Emily Couch and Audrey Enghauser
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Column Writing, “Boiling Point”: Chloe Sears
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Commentary, “Homing in”: Antonio Starks
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Podcast, “Taking it day by day”: Janie Ripps
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Feature/Entertainment Photo, “Outside the Program”: Lucas Donnelly
Superior Newspaper/Newsmagazine/News Website: Social Media Storytelling, “Clinic Women’s Pro Twilight”: Lucas Donnelly
Superior Literary Magazine: Short Story, “Fractured Future”: Natalie Schliekelman
Superior Literary Magazine: Short Story, “American Christmas”: Ayanna Lonon
Superior Literary Magazine: Artwork, “Gatsby’s Dream”: Bird Smith
Superior Literary Magazine: Cover Design, “Astraeus”: Eva Orbock
