The Beacon: a publication created, designed and written by students at Olentangy High School provides early journalism experience and a look into possible career fields. The staff includes writers, designers, editors, social media management, publicity management, photographers and a single adviser. Although the adviser remains the same, the students manning the positions are in a yearly rotation. As they graduate high school and move onto college, Introduction to Journalism students feed in and replace the previous staff. Now we look back on the students who once ran The Beacon, to see where they are now…

Adam Piccin

“I didn’t realize at the time just how important the skills you can learn in the journalism program are. Every job out there involves some kind of writing. Take advantage of the plentiful opportunities available to you at OHS to refine and improve your writing and editing skills. It has paid off for me tenfold, and it was undoubtedly the best decision I made in high school.”

After graduating from Otterbein University in December 2015 with bachelor’s degrees in Public Relations and Health Communication, Piccin began working as a Marketing Communications Coordinator at Bricker & Eckler LLP and Director of Marketing and Public Relations at The Dharma House. One of Piccin’s many achievements after high school was serving as programs Project Manager and Entertainment Coordinator for the Lewis Center Business Association (LCBA) 2015 LC Summer Bash & Fireworks.

Hannah Gifford

“Stay close with each other and make memories – I always think back to my fun memories and days in the Journalism lab with my high school friends. I would give anything to be back making the “Beacon’s Baker’s Dozen” with my other staff members instead of dozing off in my accounting class any day. These memories and friends will last you a lifetime, so make sure you live up all of your high school moments and make every class count!”

Currently enrolled in Max M. Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University, Hannah Gifford works as Sales and Marketing Intern for LogicStream Health, and will begin her coveted internship as Operations Analyst Development Program Intern for JP Morgan Chase & Co. summer 2017. When not volunteering at local food pantries and working as an intern at LogicStream Health, Gifford serves as the Vice President of Marketing on Alpha Phi Rho Chapter’s Executive Board. Just a few of Gifford’s achievements after high school include receiving Dean’s list all five semesters of college thus far, and being an initiated member of an all-Greek honors society, Order of Omega (based on academic standing – represent top 5 percent highest GPAs in all Greek life).

Ryan Kelly

“You are about to enter a very transitional and exciting period of your lives. Be sure to find balance. Your high school and college years are incredibly fun; be sure to enjoy the moment while also planning for your future without giving yourself too much anxiety about the future decisions you’ll be making. It’s okay not to know what you want to do or where you want to be; there is plenty of time to figure that out.”

Graduate from The Ohio State University, and currently a student at Villanova Law School, Ryan Kelly attributes many of his successes to Mrs. Jessica Roads, Journalism adviser at Olentangy High School, for exposing him to the work of Ann Curry and encouraging him to “give a voice to the voiceless.” His greatest achievement after high school was serving on BuckeyeThon’s executive board team at Ohio State and working with over 4,000 Ohio State students to raise $1.3 million for pediatric cancer patients at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. 

Nick Gray

“I have learned how much a staff can enjoy one another. The two years at The Beacon gave me some of my best friends even today, and even though a similar dynamic existed at the school newspaper at UK, this was the first place that happened. And you learn how much more you can work for a paper and a group of people that you care about.”

After graduating from University of Kentucky, Nick Gray began working as a freelance sports writer. Gray wrote for UK’s newspaper as well as many professional publications throughout his college career. One of his many achievements during college was being awarded a Kentucky state award for best sports story for school newspaper when UK made 2014 Final Four.  

Brenna Parker

“I never thought I would become a student public speaker on the issues of free speech and safe spaces on college campuses, having spoke at the Newseum in Washington DC and as a panelist at the Poynter Institute Media Ethics Conference.”

Currently enrolled at Kent State University, Brenna Parker is the Vice President of Professional Relations at PRSSA Kent and was a Public Policy/Communications intern for The Philanthropy Roundtable in Washington DC and a Campaign Fellow for Hillary For America (Ohio Together). Some of Parker’s greatest achievements include working on events with Secretary Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders. In March 2017 Parker plans to travel to Accra, Ghana to research public policy on women and girls education.

Sarah Olivieri

“Being yearbook editor my senior year gave me leadership skills and being on The Beacon that year really allowed me to stretch my creativity and gave me my first taste of what working for a magazine/newspaper would entail from me.”

Currently a Junior at Ohio University, Sarah Olivieri is a staff designer for Athens, Ohio area Newspaper, The Post. Olivieri also writes for Ohio University’s online fashion publication, Thread. Just a few of her achievements include, obtaining over 1,000 shares of her article on Facebook and being named MVP of The Post magazine.

Katie Winegarner

“One of the biggest lessons I learned from being on The Beacon was working under stress and a deadline. I remember so many days right before press where a group of us would be looking over things and trying to make everything perfectly fit on those InDesign spreads. It helped me a lot with teamwork as well. In classes, I didn’t always care about the projects we were working on, and I got stuck in a lot of groups where I did 99 percent of the work. However, in the Beacon, we all worked so hard, and we all worked together, and it really showed me how to work as a cohesive unit. I really loved working with my Beacon family- those memories I will forever cherish.”

Now working as an Office Manager at a telematics company in Dayton, Ohio, Katie Winegarner is a graduate from Wright State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. One of Winegarner’s achievements after high school was graduating college, Winegarner claimed it was something she worked very hard for.

Sarah Montell

“Dream big, and don’t take failure too seriously. I messed up and failed so many times before landing my internship and eventual job at the White House, but I learned to take each with a grain of salt and attempted to learn something from each.”

Sarah Montell, Ohio State University graduate class of 2015, served as Special Assistant to the Director and Associate Director for Presidential Personnel at the White House under the Obama Administration until recently. Not only did Montell work closely with Mrs. Obama, she also studied abroad in college claiming it was one of her greatest personal achievements.

Adam Fleischer

“I learned that there are few things more important than having the right of free expression, and that there is a weight of responsibility with that right.”

Currently a Trustee of Berlin Township, Adam Fleischer has worked at The Ohio State House, The Governor’s Office and for a litany of different local and state public officials. Fleischer has also managed various campaigns and managed several others.

Laura Pearse

“Spend time getting to know yourself – how you learn, your strengths, what ignites you, and what you’re actually interested in and then implement habits that help you be the best version of you in each stage of life. Double down on those strengths over and over. Self-awareness is key in any industry (and a huge advantage). Let yourself make mistakes in this process and learn from each one. (And never stop getting back up).”

Laura Pearse, 2008 Olentangy High School graduate, is now self employed at her company, Pique. Pique helps launch, optimize and grow businesses. After graduating from North Park University and Columbus State, Pearse had an Associates degree in Digital Design and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Working day and night to successfully launch her company, Pearse can now say being the founder and owner of Pique is her greatest achievement. Check out Pearse’s company online at http://bepique.com.

Hadley Savoldi

“Enjoy every minute! Journalism definitely gave me a taste of the “real world” while I was at Olentangy. It gives excellent exposure to not only effective communication skills, but also how to work well with a team, meet deadlines, stay involved in what’s going on inside and out of the community, meet new people, and of course create awesome content!”

Currently an Account Executive at Kreber, Hadley Savoldi claims one of her greatest accomplishments was graduating from Ohio University, and obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communication. Not only did Savoldi graduate a year before the average time student does, she received Summa Cum Laude. Belonging to The Beacon staff prepared Savoldi for the work force and provided her with many valuable life skills.