Status Update: A Fall Semester With The iliad
Above: MAKING PROGRESS: ODYSSEY News Magazine Editor-in-Chief Molly Harwell and iliad Literary-Art Magazine Editor-in-Chief Olivia Hendershot interview photographer J. Grant Brittan in the Clarke Central High School Media Center on Sept. 28 during the J. Grant Brittan Artist Visit. Hendershot was grateful for the opportunity the iliad received to connect with the CCHS community during artist visits. “I really admire the artist visits the media center hosts because they're always willing to include our program which definitely helps with our outreach and audience engagement,” Hendershot said. Photo by Aza Khan
The iliad Literary-Art Magazine’s Editorial Board made progress on program production throughout the first semester.
The first semester at Clarke Central High School came to a close on Dec. 20, 2023 and the iliad Literary-Art Magazine’s Editorial Board can proudly say that we’ve accomplished almost every goal within our production calendar in order to move on with this year's magazine production.
Starting the year off on a good note, the Editorial Board worked together to create our first-ever Diversity Statement. It was important to codify this language because our magazine represents the entirety of CCHS and we must ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to that ideal.
Above: (From left to right) Clarke Central High School and iliad Literary Art Magazine alumnus Ethan Caspary Poucher, Managing Editor Cate Demaria and Editor-in-Chief Olivia Hendershot sit on the Hendershot’s Coffee Shop stage during the iliad Student Showcase on Aug. 30, 2023. Demaria emphasized the importance of the iliad’s student events. “I feel as though it helped differentiate us from ODYSSEY Newsmagazine, our sister publication, which is often something we struggle with,” DeMaria said. “While we might not be able to use the same venue again, I think this event is important for us to have as it invites people to embrace the creativity our students and faculty have at CCHS.” Photo by Aza Khan
Two months into the semester, the iliad Editorial Board began to conduct class talks in all world language, ELA and art classes at CCHS. Visuals Coordinator Flannery Ragan and Writing Director Margo McDaniel took the lead in coordinating speaking appearances and created a presentation including information about submitting and getting involved with the iliad program.
Above: (From left to right) iliad Literary-Art Magazine Outreach Director Niles Flath and ODYSSEY Media Group staffers Maya Clement, Samaya Ellis and Isabella Westrich pose at a University of Georgia concession stands Sep. 23, 2023. Flath valued this volunteering experience with their iliad and ODYSSEY colleagues. “I got to know my fellow ODYSSEY and iliad staff members in an environment that helped bring us together as a team,” Flath wrote. “Getting to interact with Athens in such a unique way is definitely something I’m grateful for.” Photo by Adah Hamman
In October, the iliad held its first bake sale of the school year, which brought in 105 dollars of our program funds. We were able to collaborate with a local Athens bakery, Independent Baking Company, which provided us with morning rolls. The rest of our baked goods were supplied by our very own Editorial Board.
Above: (From left to right) ODYSSEY Media Group Editor-in-Chief Molly Harwell, iliad Social Media Coordinator Victoria Garland and iliad Writing Director Margo McDaniel sit on a subway in Boston on Nov. 8. Garland valued the time she spent listening to sessions and the time she spent with her team. “NSPA was my first national convention and I’m happy I was able to experience it with the iliad ed-board,” Garland said. “I attended sessions that helped me learn more about my position, and got to bond with my teammates at the same time which was really special.” Photo by Maya Clement
November was a busy month for the iliad. On Nov. 1, 2023, a majority of the iliad Editorial Board members flew to Boston, Mass. where we attended the National High School Journalism Convention and learned about different aspects of journalism and different strategies to produce a lit. mag. and how to develop our leadership skills. Through various experiences in Boston, our team grew closer together.
Shortly after, we had our November club meeting with Infusion Magazine, UGA’s multicultural publication. They gave a presentation about their program and then provided us with magazines to collage with for content creation.
During the final month of the semester, the iliad organized a Creative Writing Project to obtain more submissions for our 2024 magazine. ODYSSEY production students created monologues, scripts, free-verse and closed-form poems and various prose pieces all included in individually-crafted projects.
We're excited to begin publishing the artists of CCHS during the second semester and continue to be a successful literary art magazine.
Story by Olivia Hendershot
Olivia Hendershot is a junior at Clarke Central High School in Athens, Georgia. She serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the iliad literary-art magazine. Hendershot hopes to expand iliads outreach as well as make positive improvements to the program. In her free time, she likes listening to music, sketching/painting and hanging out with friends.