Members of the ODYSSEY Media Group pose at the Marriott Hotel in Colombia, SC at the Southern Interscholastic Press Association (SIPA) conference on March 2. The group had the opportunity to bond, learn about journalism and compete in competitions at the convention. “I’m just really glad I get one more year with all of these people,” iliad Editor-in-Chief Beatrice Acheson said. “They make me a better version of myself and they are always motivating. I feel that I am the best version of myself when I am with all of (them).” Photo by Owen Donnelly
Members of the ODYSSEY Media Group joined student journalists from high schools across the Southeast in attending the annual Southern Interscholastic Press Association conference from March 1 through 3.
Four hundred seventy students from high schools across the Southeast attended the annual Southern Interscholastic Press Association (SIPA) conference held in Columbia, SC from March 1 through 3.
Student attendees participated in journalistic sessions, competitions and networking opportunities, starting with a set of pre-convention classes covering topics including writing, design, photography and leadership after lunch on Friday.
“When I first (found out) my pre-con class and the competition I was gonna do, I didn’t really know what to expect,” Journalism I student Gerardo Navarro, a Clarke Central High School junior, said. “But, right as I was doing my pre-con class, which was Creative Nonfiction, I was actually really enjoying it because I got to write what I wanted. The music that we listened to really inspired me to write what nonfiction I want, and I got to be creative.”
The convention kicked off with SIPA 2020 presidential campaign speeches from ODYSSEY Media Group Junior Copy Editor Alexander Robinson, a CCHS junior, and Oxford High School junior Grace Logan on Friday night.
“(The campaign) was really a team effort — just designing stickers, designing cards, ordering both of those, setting up a booth, getting candy, passing out things, getting people to network (and) talk to other schools,” Robinson said. “Then, of course, practicing the speech over and over and over again, getting ready to present it.”
Students had the opportunity to attend sessions, including one by juniors Managing Editor Elena Gilbertson Hall and Sports Editor Mackenzie Caudill entitled “Convergence Coverage.”
“It was a really valuable experience to present at the conference to journalists from across the region. Opportunities like that allow us to network with other staffs and build our public speaking skills,” Gilbertson Hall said.
The next day, Co-Editor-in-Chief Ana Aldridge, a senior, and Robinson presented a session titled “Ensuring the Story” and Co-Editor-in-Chief Katie Grace Upchurch and Business Manager Emma Crane presented “The Do’s and Don’ts of Design.”
“Our presentation went a lot better than we expected,” Crane said. “The turnout was kind of crazy — we were only expecting to have about 25 to 30 people and then we ended up with a room packed with 58 kids. We got a lot of feedback saying that the presentation was really great, and that everyone had a lot of fun.”
That afternoon, students participated in various Team On-Site Production (TOP) competitions in areas including review writing, photography, newsprint and literary magazine production. For some staffers, it was an opportunity to step out of their journalistic comfort zones.
“The entire day on Saturday, I worked on a TOP broadcast competition with (Senior Visuals Coordinator Kelly Fulford), and I really got to see how broadcast worked,” sports staffer Natalie Ripps, a sophomore, said. “We interviewed the (charter) bus driver (who brought us to SC) and we discovered her story, and it was super interesting.”
Following the TOP competition, four CCHS teams participated in qualifying rounds of Quiz Bowl, a game show-style competition relating to current events and journalism, in which two CCHS teams advanced to the semifinals.
“The Quiz Bowl (quarterfinal) rounds on Saturday took a much longer time than we expected, but I felt really pleasantly surprised about that round, because for me, it was a really good chance to answer a lot of questions and help my team,” Senior Copy Editor Valeria Garcia-Pozo said.
On Sunday, March 3, Fulford and Garcia-Pozo presented “Engaging and Effective Editorials” and Morale Chair Bria Echols, a senior, and Social Media Coordinator Elena Webber, a sophomore, presented “Journalism in the Age of Social Media.”
“I sat in on (Echols’) and (Webber’s) session on social media and they had a nice crowd — they did well. I felt very positively about that,” OMG adviser David Ragsdale said. “I think they had an engaging presentation. I think they tried to give examples that other students could replicate and make their own.”
On Sunday, qualifying teams participated in the semifinals and final rounds for the Quiz Bowl competition. A team consisting of Aldridge, Donnelly, Garcia-Pozo and Journalism I student Shea Peters, a junior, as well as a team with Journalism I student Audrey Enghauser, a freshman, Gilbertson Hall, Robinson and Upchurch made it to the semifinals.
“I felt really good about making it to the semifinals of Quiz Bowl because last year I didn’t really try in Quiz Bowl and this year I actually made an effort,” Aldridge said. “It felt good for me and my teammates to get questions correct and it was fun.”
Following Quiz Bowl, attendees were recognized for individual and regional awards for journalistic work over the course of the year in addition to on-site competitions that took place during the conference.
Iliad Managing Editor Coles Ehlers, a senior, won the review writing contest. Web Master Owen Donnelly, a sophomore and Journalism I student Shea Peters, a junior, won the TOP photography contest, and a group consisting of Echols, Upchurch, Caudill and Journalism I student Luna Reichert, a freshman, won the TOP newsprint contest.
“Winning TOP was really exciting because I’m a really competitive person and it was my first competition. But it also felt good because we had a really unique and odd story. I wasn’t sure if it was going to win, so hearing our names was kind of a shock,” Reichert said.
Also at the awards ceremony, Robinson was elected 2020 SIPA president. Robinson feels his campaigning paid off.
“It feels different know that there’s weight to what I’m doing now — knowing that I’m actually going to have to help plan next year’s conference. And I’m excited about it, but it’s also a little bit daunting. You know, it’s a very large convention. I’m excited and I’m gonna work diligently and I hope to be a good servant,” Robinson said.
For Journalism I student Maggie Kelleher, a freshman new to the conference, the most meaningful part of the experience was becoming more familiar with other members of the OMG.
“I was kind of scared at first, and nervous — I don’t really know many people (in OMG). I’m not that social,” Kelleher said. “Through my friends, they know friends and then they have friends, and so it just like became this whole friend group and it was pretty great.”
Southern Interscholastic Press Association Awards 2019
Staff
Scroggins Award, Best in Show:
2019 Scroggins Award, Website: ODYSSEY Media Group
Scroggins special distinction publications (Best in State):
These publications received an All-Southern rating and represent the best candidate from each member state attending the convention.
2019 Georgia Scroggins Special Distinction Newsprint (Best in State) – ODYSSEY Clarke Central HS
2019 All-Southern – iliad Literary-Art Magazine
2019 All-Southern – ODYSSEY Newsmagazine
2019 All-Southern – ODYSSEY Media Group
2019 Social Media Marketing, Award of Merit: Iliad Staff
2019 Social Media Marketing, Honorable Mention: ODYSSEY Media Group Staff
SIPA 2019 Team On-Site Competition Winners
Review Writing, First Place: Coles Ehlers
Review Writing, Second Place: Ireland McCage
Newspaper, Best Overall: Katie Grace Upchurch, MacKenzie Caudill, Bria Echols and Luna Reichert
Photography, Best Caption: Sophia Long and Andrea Matta-Castillo
Photography, Best Gallery: Owen Donnelly & Shea Peters
2019 SIPA Individual Awards
2019 Patrons Ad page, Best in Convention: Violet Merritt and Beatrice Acheson
2019 Literary Magazine Fiction Spread, Best in Convention: Violet Merritt
2019 Literary Magazine Fiction Spread, Best in Convention: Violet Merritt
2019 Literary Magazine Gallery Spread, Best in Convention: Beatrice Acheson
2019 Headline Package, Best in Convention: Mackenzie Caudill
2019 Feature Package, Best in Convention: Katie Grace Upchurch and Everett Vereen
2019 News Package, Best in Convention: Katie Grace Upchurch
2019 Sports Package, Best in Convention: Mackenzie Caudill
2019 Newsmagazine Portfolio, Best in Convention: Katie Grace Upchurch
2019 Computer Graphics Best in Show: Alexander Robinson
2019 Feature Package Best in Show: Owen Donnelly and Elena Gilbertson-Hall
2019 Podcast Best in Show: Andrew Robinson
2019 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest, First Place Editorial Column: Katie Grace Upchurch
2019 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest, First Place Online News: Ana Aldridge
2019 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest, First Place Online Review: Audrey Enghauser
2019 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest, First Place Feature Cutlines: Kelly Fulford
2019 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest, First Place Sports Cutline: Kelly Fulford
2019 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest, Second Place Newsprint Sports Story: Alexander Robinson
2019 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest, Second Place Online Review: Mackenzie Caudill
2019 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest, Second Place Sports Feature: Alexander Robinson
2019 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest, Second Place Sports Column: Mackenzie Caudill
2019 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest, Third Place Newsprint Sports Story: Andrea Matta-Castillo
2019 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest, Third Place News Cutline: Krista Shumaker
2019 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest, Third Place Newsprint Personality Feature: Elena Gilbertson Hall
2019 Literary Magazine Cover, Award of Merit: Violet Merritt and Beatrice Acheson
2019 Literary Magazine Gallery Spread, Award of Merit: Violet Merritt
2019 Literary Magazine Nonfiction Spread, Award of Merit: Violet Merritt
2019 Literary Magazine Poetry Spread, Award of Merit: Violet Merritt
2019 Literary Magazine Table of Contents, Award of Merit: Violet Merritt and Beatrice Acheson
2019 Feature Package, Award of Merit: Katie Grace Upchurch
2019 Entertainment Package, Award of Merit: Katie Grace Upchurch and Everett Vereen
2019 Literary Magazine Portfolio, Award of Merit: Violet Merritt
2019 News Package, Award of Merit: Katie Grace Upchurch
2019 Op/Ed Package, Award of Merit: Katie Grace Upchurch
2019 Sports Package, Award of Merit: Mackenzie Caudill
2019 Newsmagazine Portfolio, Award of Merit: Mackenzie Caudill
2019 Feature Package Award of Merit: Owen Donnelly, Kelly Fulford, Alexander Robinson and Katie Grace Upchurch
2019 Photo Gallery Award of Merit: Kelly Fulford and Krista Shumaker
2019 Literary Magazine Poetry Spread, Honorable Mention: Violet Merritt
2019 Literary Magazine Portfolio, Honorable Mention: Beatrice Acheson
2019 Entertainment Package, Honorable Mention: Everett Vereen
2019 Headline Package, Honorable Mention: Mackenzie Caudill
2019 Headline Package, Honorable Mention: Katie Grace Upchurch
2019 News Package, Honorable Mention: Everett Vereen
2019 Sports Package, Honorable Mention: Katie Grace Upchurch
2019 Newsmagazine Table of Contents, Honorable Mention: Katie Grace Upchurch
2019 Feature Package, Honorable Mention: Owen Donnelly and Emma Ramsay
2019 Photo Gallery, Honorable Mention: Kelly Fulford and Owen Donnelly
2019 Environmental Portrait, Honorable Mention: Kelly Fulford
2019 News Photo, Honorable Mention: Kelly Fulford
