Joining the Odyssey has become one of the best decisions I have ever made. When you begin college, finding your voice on such a large campus can often become difficult. You struggle to voice your opinions, beliefs and experiences with others. You begin to doubt your ability against the competition of so much fresh talent. Your high school yearbook staff and newspaper suddenly become minute against the sea of published college-level content.

As a journalism major, I knew I wanted to write for a campus news outlet. At first, I wanted to boost my resume and build my writing portfolio, but the Odyssey has become so much more than that. I joined the Odyssey as a sophomore and was immediately lifted up with my peers.

The editors and older staff members kindly helped me learn to edit, make fewer AP mistakes, and create interesting content that others would want to read. It becomes so much more than a newspaper. It becomes a creative hub for writers to grow, brainstorm, and learn about producing content that will be appealing to all audiences. It becomes a place to learn from other writers’ internship experiences, and prepare for the looming job market. Nationally, the Odyssey has grown significantly to thousands of schools, and I am impressed by the content that is being published.

As the Editor-in-Chief this year, I am excited about continuing the legacy of lifting others to become stronger writers. I am excited about learning from new writers and together creating articles that every student is interested in reading.

If you are at all interested in joining the Odyssey staff, please feel free to contact me, or any of the other writers. We would love to hear from you.

So here is to another great year of growing and becoming who we are meant to be. We are supposed to figure it all out in college, right?

I found my voice, and I hope you can too.