I had heard of Odyssey many times before. It's hard to miss the eye-catching and relatable titles as a young adult. I was so ecstatic earlier this year when my college had finally been approved for a chapter with the website. Over the course of this year, Odyssey has gone through many changes, as well as my position with them!
Odyssey originally started out as a social content platform on colleges campuses, allowing millennials ages 18-22 to write for the website. With no journalism experience necessarily needed, Odyssey allowed students of all kinds to apply and write articles about whatever they felt like. With different "teams" all over the country, the website continued to grow!
As time went on, Odyssey gained popularity. With over 12,000 content creators, Odyssey made the change to branch out. It was then that geographic region based teams were created. No longer were Odyssey teams solely on college campuses. This was a huge step because this then allowed for millennials ages 16-28 to write for the site.
From January to May, I served as a writer for my college's team. As a graduating senior, about to receive her BA in Journalism and Public Relations, Odyssey was the perfect opportunity for me. Not only did it allow me to voice my opinion, it gave me a platform to practice and strengthen my writing. Additionally, it also gave me more experience within social media and how to properly get my writing out there. With my majors, Odyssey couldn't have been more perfect.
With the geographic regions being added, I was eventually approached and asked if I wanted to become an Editor in Chief of my own team. Seeing as I was graduating, I figured it'd be the perfect next step. Four months later, I'm so happy I accepted the offer!
Taking on the Editor in Chief position let me continue my love of being an editor. In college, I served as the Managing Editor of my college's newspaper. This opportunity not only let me continue that love I had, it brought it to a whole other level!
There are so many reasons why I enjoy being an Editor in Chief. For one, I love the fact that I get to help my team flourish. I have members from all different areas and walks of life. Reading their content every week is something I whole heartedly look forward too and I love being there to help with their writing needs.
I also love the fact that I was a writer before becoming an Editor in Chief. This has allowed me to become more relatable. I know what they have been through on their end, and it allows me to see things from their perspective as well.
Many people criticize Odyssey for letting anyone join. I think it's great. It's giving every millennial a chance to let their voices be heard and getting that content and voice out there for others to read.
As someone who loves writing, and always has, I think Odyssey is the perfect mix of everything I've wanted. I get to manage an awesome team, help them with her content, create my own, let their voices be heard and get their content out to thousands of people.
As a writer, there's nothing better than that.
If you have an interest in writing or getting your opinions out there, I truly suggest you request an invite to join a team! If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments!
