Reporting and Writing
As a Journalism 1 student, I developed a passion for writing. When I transitioned to the iliad Literary-Art Magazine program, I ensured that I would be able to continue writing, and following the creation of our website in October 2021, I was able to publish my pieces online. I always thrived in interviews and now, I interview local creatives and publish stories, such as Q&As and galleries, about them and their creativity. As Editor-in-Chief, I also write the Letter From The Editor and Theme Letter for our annual magazines.
Student Artist Feature:
Franni Thrasher
One of my favorite writing pieces in my time as Editor-in-Chief was my interview with student artist Franni Thrasher about her art. I packaged a gallery of her paintings and captioned each with a quote from the artist about that individual piece and uploaded it to the website. I also was able to promote the story on social media and the piece was a great success.
Click the photo to view the story.
Jessie Frary Q&A
In October 2022, we had an alumna visit our class to give a talk about design. I decided in the moment to interview her and I hadn't had much experience with impromptu interviews, but we ended up having a great conversation and I really got to know her. I ended up writing a Q&A about her experience in the creative field for our website.
Nathan Blansett Q&A
At the start of the 2021-22 school year, I had the opportunity to interview a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University about his experience with poetry. When I became a member of the iliad literary-art magazine, I had fewer opportunities for interviews than I did as an Odyssey staffer, but I renewed my love of interviewing and telling stories. Click on the image to see the Q&A.
Editor's Journals
Every week, I write an Editor's Journal with a one-page summary of what my team accomplished that week and where we fell short. Each weekly journal also includes a list of my personal accomplishments for that week, team accomplishments for that week, and a list of goals for the next week. Click on the image to see an example of an Editor's Journal.
Letters From The Editor
Every copy of the iliad magazine has a Letter From The Editor explaining the process of creating the magazine and gives the reader important information about the following magazine. Click on the image to see this year's Letter From The Editors.
Creative Writing Project
Every year, every student in the Odyssey and iliad program takes part in the Creative Writing Project. While I had the privilege of designing the project this year, I also took part in the creative writing which is always one of my favorite parts of being in the program. The project offers a chance to be vulnerable, honest, and practice creative writing while receiving constructive feedback from peers. Click on the images to enlarge some of my writing from past projects.
Theme Letters
One of the iliad magazine elements is a theme letter that gives the reader an introduction to the chosen theme for the magazine. The theme dictates the subsections, the cover art, and the design elements used throughout the magazine. This year, I had the honor of taking charge of the theme letter with the help of my Co-Editor and you can view it by clicking on the photo. ​
Community News Brief
Every year in the Journalism One class our facilitator with the help of a senior in the program puts together a mock panel to get the students acquainted with news writing and all students are expected to write a news brief about the "incident." Click on the image to read my story.
Self-Selected Editorials
As a journalism one student, our adviser challenged our class to write editorials about a topic that we cared deeply about. For me, that was the topic of how the youth was getting involved with gun legislation and other timely political issues such as climate change and voting. As a very new journalist, this piece was daunting. However, it gave me a unique opportunity to pour my passions into a piece and get an introduction to receiving edits from mentors in the program. Click on the photo to read my editorial.
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Mackenzie Caudill Q&A
To introduce the new journalists in the Journalism One class to interviewing and the basics of being a journalist, each student was assigned to conduct a Q&A with another student in the Odyssey Production class. I can see the improvement in my interviewing skills from this first interview to my most recent interview with poet Nathan Blansett and I think it can be beneficial for journalists to look back on their previous work to see where they have improved and where they still could use improvement. Click on the image to read my Q&A.
Kobe Bryant By The Numbers
As a part of the Journalism One class, I made an infographic containing statistics and numbers highlighting noteworthy moments in Kobe Bryant's career. In light of his passing, the piece had even more significance to the community and to me. Click on the photo to see the whole By The Numbers.