In the early stages of the summer, a new Odyssey community was launched at Augustana University. We are gearing up to expand our team and I can't wait to see who will be the next member of our crew! If you are reading this article right now, that means you have, in fact, heard of Odyssey. Yay! But do you know what Odyssey really is? Odyssey is a social content platform that discovers and shares a chorus of millennial voices, amplified organically through social media. Odyssey is changing the game when it comes to storytelling and modern journalism. Shying away from the traditional top-down publication model where perspectives and stories are decided and controlled by the few instead of the many, Odyssey provides an outlet for the millennial generation, often overlooked/ignored, to voice their valuable opinions and personal stories. Odyssey's mission, vision and reality is to ensure that there is not only a diversity of perspectives, but a sense of ownership and passion with each story told. Each creator contributes to the mission just by engaging with their team and contributing their ideas on our platform. Each individual creator is a valuable part of the bigger picture of Odyssey. And we want YOU to join our team.

Let me share my Odyssey story with you. I, being a fan of the many Odyssey articles on my Facebook timeline, thought “hey, I like writing too!”. I looked at the Creator profiles of some of my favorite stories and they were all regular college students just like me. So, I requested to join on a whim to be a content creator. Then, a week later, I received an email from my community's managing editor who is stationed full time at the Odyssey HQ in New York City, to set up a screening (omg I was too excited). During the phone call, to my surprise, I was offered the Editor-In-Chief position for the Augustana University Community. Although I was hesitant to take the position as I had little experience in the journalism world, my managing editor encouraged and believed in me and assured me that I was the right person for this role. Accepting the position with Odyssey has been the best decision I could have made for myself and my future career goals. I love being a part of Odyssey because it’s a way for me to make my voice heard and positively impact and inspire my community. Working with Odyssey has been an amazing opportunity to not only to define my personal work ethic but also to network and learn from other millennials from across the country. I love people, I love to make people think and I love to write. How perfect, right?

Since launching the Augie community in June, I have been afforded the opportunity to work with some of the most talented, kind and caring individuals on campus. I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished in the short amount of time we have been together. Each creator on this team brings something special and inspiring to the the table every week. I strongly believe in the power of the written word and Odyssey has given me and the rest of my team a chance to be seen and heard. If you would like to be a part of Odyssey's mission, we are currently looking for new motivated members to join our squad. Don’t be afraid to take an opportunity, you never know what may come of it.

With as much enthusiasm as I can give,

Grace Fjellanger