ODYSSEY Media Group Digital Editor-in-Chief Anna Shaikun volunteers at Clarke Central High School’s Trunk or Treat event on Oct. 26, 2022. Through her time in the ODYSSEY Media Group, even during online learning, Shaikun has found lifelong friends. “Those strangers on a computer screen have become some of my favorite people and I’ve loved seeing them grow up alongside me,” Shaikun wrote. “I will always love the ODYSSEY folks, past and present, who have become my family.” Photos from the ODYSSEY archives
A spark of community
Digital Editor-in-Chief Anna Shaikun, a senior, reflects on her time in the ODYSSEY Media Group.
Despite learning over Zoom, being the lone kid from Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School, and being limited in my pursuit of “real” journalism, I fell in love with the ODYSSEY Media Group during my freshman year.
A spark of community and meaningful work brought me back to ODYSSEY sophomore year and beyond, where that spark became a flame.
Although I didn’t anticipate the path I would take in ODYSSEY, I wouldn’t change a second of it. Through my time on the Digital Staff, I learned multimedia storytelling and how to be a mentor. I threw myself headfirst into my work — telling the stories of my community and uplifting others in Room 231 — and proudly claimed the title of “ODYSSEY kid.”
Although I didn’t anticipate the path I would take in ODYSSEY, I wouldn’t change a second of it. Through my time on the Digital Staff, I learned multimedia storytelling and how to be a mentor. I threw myself headfirst into my work — telling the stories of my community and uplifting others in Room 231 — and proudly claimed the title of ‘ODYSSEY kid.’
Through ODYSSEY, I have grown exponentially as a writer, a leader, and a human being. Those strangers on a computer screen have become some of my favorite people and I’ve loved seeing them grow up alongside me.
I will always value the skills that this program has taught me, and I will always love the ODYSSEY folks, past and present, who have become my family.
