Leadership
As a captain on my soccer team, I wasn't totally new to leadership when I stepped into an editor role with the ODYSSEY. However, there are obvious differences between the two, meaning I had to find my leadership style and philosophy by participating and engaging with all the events below.
Conference Presentations
I've presented alongside some of my colleagues at the National High School Journalism Convention, Southern Interscholastic Press Association, Georgia Scholastic Press Association, as well as leading presentations to the ODYSSEY staff. Apart from the mastery of the presentation's subject matter, these experiences have made me a more confident and engaging public speaker and a more decisive leader.
Editorial Board
Editorial Board meetings offer everyone a chance to speak on the way they feel about the week and the direction of their staff, as well as a chance for the Cabinet to raise concerns they have with editors. These are very helpful to me so I can help me guide the staff and talk with those who have more experience than me, as well as take the temperature of editors who are working more directly with the staff.
Leadership Seminars
I participated in leadership seminars hosted by our adviser, Mr. Ragsdale, to help teach editors like myself how to lead. One of these seminars especially stuck with me – one on editing showed me how to edit a piece without overly taxing myself while still ensuring a quality product.
Weekend Workdays
Weekend workdays were a big way that I accomplished work in the ODYSSEY as the Sports Editor. My sports staffers weren’t often present for these, so this was a time for me to work with other members of staff and Journalism I students, as well as getting layouts and other personal work done.
Project Management
I instituted the first-ever ODYSSEY Media Group Media Day, wherein student-athletes from each season attend to have their photos taken. As the leader of this project, I had to organize, communicate, and generally have a vision for the event, which yielded excellent products on the back end. I parlayed that role into a manager for other events, such as event and game coverages as well as outreach projects.
Editor's Journals
Every month, ODYSSEY editors are graded on a personal reflection to make sense of the previous months work. These essays are a great resource to create a dialogue with our adviser and improve our self-efficacy on staff.