Former ODYSSEY Media Group Visuals Coordinator Lucas Donnelly, Editor-in-Chief Molly Harwell and Managing Editor Maya Clement (from left to right) stand in front pose with the National Scholastic Press Association’s All-American award. After the Newsmagazine was recognized as a Pacemaker finalist in both 2022 and 2023, OMG adviser David Ragsdale hopes the program can capture a third straight nomination. “Ms. Harwell had some excellent mentors during her formative years in the program and the system laid out for student success she’s engaged herself and her staffers has shown through,” Ragsdale said. “I’m excited to see what she and her Leadership Team have in store for her senior year.” Photo by Liza Larson
The 2022-2023 staff of the ODYSSEY Newsmagazine was recognized by the National Scholastic Press Association as a 2023 Pacemaker finalist.
The National Scholastic Press Association has recognized the ODYSSEY Newsmagazine’s 2022-2023 staff as a 2023 Pacemaker finalist.
The award, which celebrates the preeminent scholastic publications across the country, is given by professional journalistic figures who evaluate all submitted print publications.
“The NSPA Pacemaker award has a rich tradition and the association started presenting the award to high school newspapers a few years after the organization was founded in 1921,” the NSPA stated in a Sept. 5 press release.
As a part of a greater list of 54 scholastic student publications recognized, the ODYSSEY Newsmagazine was nominated for a Pacemaker, NSPA’s highest award, for the second consecutive year. Previously, the Newsmagazine was named a Pacemaker finalist in 2009, 2011, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022, while the ODYSSEY website was honored with online finalists in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2018.
The ODYSSEY Newsmagazine was recognized as a 2023 Pacemaker finalist by the National Scholastic Press Association on Sept. 5. For Lead Copy Editor Wyatt Meyer, who served as the Sports Editor in 2023, the award is proof of the dedication the staff showed throughout the year. “It’s incredible to think that we were able to be honored as a Pacemaker finalist despite being such a young staff,” Meyer said. “The vast majority of our editors and even the staff itself were either sophomores or juniors, so to see that an inexperienced staff could achieve this much, there’s no telling how far we could go in 2024.” Timeline by Cadence Schapker and Wyatt Meyer
“Being recognized as a finalist means so much to everyone on staff,” News Editor Isabella Westrich, a senior, said. “We put in so many hours and so much work last year, and being acknowledged by a national organization makes it feel like our work is being seen.”
Led by Editor-in-Chief Molly Harwell, then a junior, the 2022-2023 staff published four issues of the newsmagazine for the first time since the 2018-2019 school year.
“My first year as Editor-in-Chief was simultaneously one of the most challenging years of my journalistic career, but also the most fulfilling because of the incredible hard work from the staff,” Harwell said. “Being nominated for a Pacemaker makes me so immensely proud and excited to be a part of this team, and makes all of the blood, sweat and tears we poured into the magazine worth it.”
“Being nominated for a Pacemaker makes me so immensely proud and excited to be a part of this team, and makes all of the blood, sweat and tears we poured into the magazine worth it.”
— Molly Harwell,
Editor-in-Chief
Out of 54 finalists, 24 will be recognized as Pacemaker winners on Nov. 4 at the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity that ODYSSEY gave me to create and share my work with other students. Being recognized for awards like the Pacemaker, even outside of high school, is a reminder of that,” former Visuals Coordinator Lucas Donnelly, a CCHS Class of 2023 alumnus, said. “The work I did in ODYSSEY set the pace for my work ethic, my career, and the national standard of high school journalism, and that’s something to be proud of.”
For OMG adviser David Ragsdale, being recognized in back-to-back years is a testament to the process engaged in by ODYSSEY Media Group students and the faith he has in Harwell’s leadership.
“Ms. Harwell had some excellent mentors during her formative years in the program and the system laid out for student success she’s engaged herself and her staffers in has shown through,” Ragsdale said. “I’m excited to see what she and her Leadership Team have in store for her senior year.”
