ODYSSEY Alumni Profile 2

Q&A: Alumna Makayla Richards

By Dalace Thomas

Clarke Central High School 2015 graduate Makayla Richards reflects on her time in ODYSSEY and speaks on how it has gotten her where she is today.

Alumni Relations Coordinator Dalace Thomas: How many years were you on ODYSSEY and what years were they?

Makayla Richards: I was on staff for three years, 2012-2015.

Photo courtesy of ODYSSEY archives

DT: What was your ODYSSEY experience like? What was your job on staff?

MK: When I first got on staff they put me in news but that only lasted two weeks. I was not good at that, it was not for me.

Ragsdale noticed that I had a camera, so we decided to birth the broadcast department I was Broadcast Managing editor for two years. We formed (ODYSSEY TV). Really weird videos, bad audio, we were broke, had no equipment. People stole our equipment and it was a hard time. The last year I was the Business Manager. That was pretty chill as a senior because I was in charge of office management. I did a lot of trying to make everyone happy and make the staff have a lot more fun. I brought back deadline pride. I dressed up and looked like a little candy cane one day and we passed out candy and little tiny trophies we got at Party City.

Photo courtesy of ODYSSEY archives

DT: What is the one thing you remember from your years on ODYSSEY?

MK: My favorite memory that made me really happy was publishing my first article. I didn’t write much being on broadcast, so when I got the chance to write an opinions piece and it be published, it was this sense of accomplishment that I had not felt before.

People were reading it. I had lots of encounters with students that told me they had read my article. Some hated it some liked it, but nevertheless it was something that I had done that had caused a reaction which is what I think, when you write an article that’s what you should strive to do, especially in an editorial. Make people think.

DT: what is a struggle that made you feel down about ODYSSEY and how did you come back from it?

MK: I went through a period where I was like “I don’t want to be here”. I think it had a lot to do with trying to understand (David Ragsdale, English department chair and ODYSSEY Media Group advisor) and the person that he is. When you first get on staff you are a little intimidated by him and that’s fine. You grow into a little bit of a comfort zone, but you are still not really sure about him. He is about what he wants you to do.

What really brings you out of it is learning that he is always there for you and that he is always wanting to push you harder. I think I was at a point where he was pushing me and I didn’t want to go anymore, but I got out of it when I ended up publishing another article. I sat back and looked and I was like “I can keep going with this and I don’t mind being pushed anymore because I got it”

DT: What do you do now in college?

MK: I go to the University of North Georgia. I will be transferring to (The University of Georgia). At my college I am Managing Editor of our paper, it’s called The Vanguard. Just like ODYSSEY, our (publication) is a class and I am basically the teacher of that class.

DT: How has being on ODYSSEY helped you get to where you are now?

MK: I said I was on ODYSSEY and they made me Managing Editor. That’s the weight of this program. I sent in a couple pieces of my writing and video. They know of our staff and our awards and they were like, “Yeah, you can be Managing Editor.” I beat out any competition that I had and I am about to apply for Editor in Chief next year.

Photo courtesy of Clarke County School District

DT: If you could give any advice to an ODYSSEY staff member, what would it be?

MK: Don’t get scared of the workload. You can't think of it as being a lot of work.

You need to think about it as being part of a process.

Think about time management. Imagine calendars in your head all the time.

Photo courtesy of ODYSSEY archives