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News writing
News writing was a real challenge for me at first because I grew up always inserting my opinions into everything, so objectivity was hard. With time, I have grown to appreciate the formula of news writing. My beats were hard at first, but after writing two terrible beats, I was able to get a better handle on them, with almost all of mine since getting published.
French fairy tales
Left: Here is a link to a story I wrote on a French summative where students write in French their twist on classic fairy tales. This might sound boring, but I thought that with an added point of how non-traditional summatives are better for assessments, it became interesting. I really like this story as a beat because I got to bring light to the French teachers/students who often do not get coverage as a community. This beat, while not my best, does show how I like to take a simple story topic and expand it into something bigger. Also, I enjoy highlighting the smaller communities within my school.
There's history in the baking
Left: Here is a link to a story I wrote in February about the Black History Month Bake-Off. This competition was rooted in the history of ingredient restrictions placed on post-slavery African Americans and Black people during the Jim Crow era. At the beginning of this story, I struggled because I had to dig up this story without knowing much at all besides the general topic on the poster. I am proud of how I was able to uncover this story and tell it. This story, because of its historical premise, required me to do more reporting and research to ensure all of my facts were correct. Through this story, I encouraged one student to join ODYSSEY, so I guess I gave a good impression during the interview.
Language across the world
Left: Here is a link to a story I wrote on a CCHS student named Elijah Crowder, who spent several months on a study abroad opportunity in Colombia. I connected this amazing story with the idea of studying abroad in a foreign language region to further study the language. I was unfamiliar with the story of Crowder until a teacher reached out with the experience, but being a collagist of ideas, I expanded it. From front to back, I am very proud of this story and the work I put into it to tell Crowder's story.
Making Big Playoffs
Left: Here is a link to a story I wrote on the CCHS flag football team's success in making it into the playoffs. This was a big deal to our school because the team was only in its second season, so the importance of telling this story was vital. Sports do not normally interest me, but a good story always does. So, to tell this story, I made sure the information was important and that the quotes tell an interesting story outside of the sports cliches. Additionally, I got to play around with the standard QTQT format a bit due to the large amount of information needed to provide context.
Lions in Lyndon
Left: Here is a link to a story I wrote on Burney-Harris Lyons Middle School. This was one of four stories that covered Clarke Central's feeder middle schools. This story tested my patience for sure. Getting interviews and sources was difficult at first, but I prevailed and finished the product. The art exhibition had limited access, so it was important to get this story out and published before the gallery closed. The art teacher quoted in the story was really happy with the final product, and it made me proud to tell BHL's story. I was especially proud because historically, BHL does not get nearly as much ODYSSEY coverage as the other middle schools because it's farther away. This definitely helped bridge that gap in coverage.
Maxwell at Middle
Left: Here is a button that links to a story I wrote on the new Interim Principal at Clarke Middle School. This was big news in CCSD, so to start the semester, I wanted to profile Mr. Maxwell and introduce him to the community. The story accomplished a lot of what I set out to do and more. Mr. Maxwell himself was happy with it and appreciated the time I took to write about him. As a prominent member of the community, it was important that the ODYSSEY highlighted him.
National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists' success
Left: Here is a button that links to a story I wrote on two National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists at my school. Both of these seniors are well known for their academic success, but I thought something that focused more on their journey in this competition would be more interesting. This story allowed me to talk to one of our administrators and two fellow seniors I hadn't met before. Overall, this story came out well and helped cover the kids within our school.
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