Being a student at Houghton College now means having an opportunity to write and to grow as a communicator using a professional platform.
Ava Bergen ’17 defines the Odyssey as an “online aggregate.” “It is a media platform,” she said, “that takes the voices of millennials and allows [them] to discover and write about what [they] choose to. The Odyssey gives us the ability to put our thoughts out there for the world to see.”
Sami Allen, the original managing editor for Houghton College, works in the Odyssey offices in New York and found Houghton College through the Instagram of Amy Abraham ’18. Allen, impressed with Abraham’s social media skills, contacted Abraham to ask if she would be interested in starting a branch at Houghton College. Abraham jumped at the opportunity and chose to become the social media director. The social media director helps writers boost the publicity of their articles, gives ideas to those who are struggling come up with article topics, and promotes the articles on social media outlets such as Facebook and Instagram.
Bergen was hired as editor-in-chief, a role that entails overseeing a team of about fifteen writers in order to help them grow as writers and communicators. The editor-in-chief is the first person that writers may seek for help or advice in regard to their articles. Bergen explains how the Odyssey is a bottom-up business model opposed to the typical top-down model. This means that the Odyssey’s focus is to encourage millennials to take on more responsibility and to have many opportunities open to them. As a student employee of the Odyssey, you have the option to be a writer in addition to working towards editing positions and dealing with social media promotions. Bergen reports to Houghton’s managing editor over Skype, emails and phone calls. The managing editor works in the Odyssey’s offices and is responsible for going over the weekly reports with the editors-in-chief of different campuses. These reports include the number of people that interacted with the various articles written by the students of Houghton College, and how the college staff can potentially increase these numbers.
The Odyssey hires millennials as writers in order to disband the idea that one needs vast experience to produce good work. The online platform believes that it is important for the voices of young adults to be heard. Houghton College has a team of fifteen writers who are responsible for putting out one article a week on the topic of their choice. This team was hired for an apparent love of writing, an evident desire to communicate, and a responsible work ethic with the self-motivation to consistently write. These writers do not necessarily need to be writing or English majors. According to Bergen, the Odyssey offers a unique opportunity for those who enjoy writing but rarely have a consistent outlet to show it.
“We have a student who is a physics major, which is someone whom you typically do not think of as a writer,” Bergen explained. “This company gives people the chance to try something new and discover a talent of writing that otherwise may not have been pursued.”
Kimberly Logee ‘17, the contributing editor of the Houghton Odyssey, helps aspiring writers better their work by editing articles and giving feedback. Logee gains great satisfaction from the editing process and helping individuals improve their writing. She says that Houghton students that write for the Odyssey are receiving a résumé-building experience, an opportunity to grow as a writer, and a chance to win some extra money if their article is the most shared for that particular week. Bergen also emphasized this opportunity that the Odyssey allows students.
“It is interesting—the power the internet gives to people,” Bergen said. “Millennials can reach a huge audience with the power of words due to the connections of social media. The Odyssey creates an intentional community of people producing excellent work that has the power to connect with and motivate the world.”
Avery’s running career started long before he signed up for the World Marathon Challenge. On his 51
Most of the alumni came in on Friday or early Saturday morning to campus for this special weekend. Some stayed in the community or at some of the current players’ houses where they had the chance to reconnect with old teammates. The events started on Saturday with games taking place around noon. At Nielsen, the women’s volleyball team played against their alumni, then the women’s field hockey played against their alumni immediately right after at 1:30pm. While the women’s and men’s soccer games were scheduled to play outside on Burke Field, a snow covered field caused them to relocate to the Kerr-Pegula Field House. They followed the same time schedule as the teams at Nielsen with the women playing at noon and the men going right after. Once the men’s soccer game ended, everyone was invited to a reception where there was food served and a couple speeches given. “The play was fast-paced and the alumni showed that they still have their touch and can play a quality game” said Head Women’s Soccer Coach David Lewis. “Overall, it was a great opportunity to catch up on player’s families, jobs, and grad schools.” Head Men’s Soccer Coach Matthew Webb added, “Seeing the alumni back on the field playing with each other is always so fun to see. Seeing the relationships that were formed while at Houghton sustained over the years is so rewarding.”
Naomi Woolsey, a Houghton graduate of 2010, has been practicing ceramics in Houghton College’s studio for over 5 years. She did not major in art, but has felt a love for creating ever since she was a child. “Some of my first memories are of playing in the creek here at Houghton when I’d visit my grandparents,” said Woolsey, “I’d make tiny pots out of the creek clay.” She paused, laughing softly, “Things have really come full circle.”
Traditionally, the Houghton Lyric Theatre presents a musical or opera every spring. Shows are selected based on current students’ skill sets, and 
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in a move undoubtedly made to appease those disappointed with the #OscarSoWhite controversy, decided to invite edgy stand-up comedian Chris Rock to host. Thankfully enough for both audience and Academy it turned out to be a smart move. The Academy, to its credit, held up a mirror and allowed itself to be subjected to a healthy dose of reality that they may realize how difficult it has become for minorities to penetrate the upper echelons of Hollywood. 
In 2013, Cronin transferred to Houghton College. She joined the basketball team and remained healthy during the regular season. Unfortunately, Cronin’s luck ran out during a summer league basketball game, she felt a pop in the arch of her foot. The seemingly harmless pop turned out to be a rare injury; Cronin had torn her plantar fascia tendon lengthwise. After recovering, she proceeded to re-tear the tendon two more times, the final tear occurring last spring during a routine base-sliding drill on the softball diamond. She was then barred from athletics by her podiatrist. “There was definitely a period of mourning after that”, she said. 
In the wake of their losses, Button and Cronin found solace in assisting their respective head coaches: Alicia Mucher of women’s basketball and Brianna Allen of softball. “Nothing is the same as playing, but it enables me to stay close to the game”, Cronin said. “It’s a different style of leadership [than playing], and it’s a different way of thinking and strategizing about the game.” 
Overall, our group of students wanted to find new ways to approach sports business and analytics by gaining insight on how this particular sporting event was run. Our day in the stadium was not focused on actual analytics, rather the problems we could solve through use of data science. 
It’s no accident that despite the violence that saturates the film, the setting and cinematography are devastatingly gorgeous. Shot entirely with natural light, the beautiful scenes of nature form an interesting contrast to Glass’s suffering, perhaps as a testament of nature’s callous unconcern.