Clarke Central High School’s student-run news organization ODYSSEY Media Group commemorated its 20th anniversary last year with alumni, friends and family at a special banquet. Among the attendees was local videographer and hip-hop artist Jahkiem Ellison, who was there to reconnect with staff and celebrate a program that helped mold him into the creative he is today. During a conversation with ODYSSEY founder and faculty advisor David Ragsdale, Ellison’s former teacher said that he should create a theme song or something of the sort for the program.
“I think he was just playing around, you know what I’m saying? But me being me, I was like, ‘Alright, I got you,’” says Ellison. “It really just started off with me wanting to give back to my home city and my old school.”
So he took the idea to the studio, liked the song he produced, decided why not create a full rollout and took it to Ragsdale for his blessing. Ellison got permission to come to Clarke Central and shoot a music video for the track with the ODYSSEY classroom. The students received the song a few days before the shoot, and to Ellison’s surprise, learned all the words before he got there. They were eager to be a part of the project and see the end result.
“Honestly, the video itself was pretty great. I love the fact of how at home it felt to record it,” says Ellison. “With the ODYSSEY, it really felt like home for real, especially when I was in school. So I knew how much it meant to [the students] to see me come back and see the things that I’m doing from what I learned from the class and actually executing it in my career.”
Ellison operates GAS Productions providing videography services for musicians and starting to branch into sports. As a musician himself, he has an insider perspective when it comes to what artists are looking for. His brand “GAS” stands for growth and stability, which it strives for mentally, physically, spiritually and financially. Most importantly, Ellison says what he’s doing now is a direct result of everything he learned working with the ODYSSEY.
In high school Ellison was a shy athlete focused on playing sports. Ragsdale approached Ellison in his literature class about what he wanted to do outside of playing basketball, and Ellison had an interest in becoming a sports commentator, which required being comfortable on camera. So Ragsdale convinced Ellison to join the ODYSSEY as a newscast anchor and video editor.
The experience brought Ellison out of his comfort zone, and he discovered a passion for videography and newscasting. He learned how to write different types of scripts, edit different video styles, the fundamentals of maintaining your presence on camera and more. Although the educational focus was from a journalistic perspective, Ellison says that a lot of what he learned translated into music.
“I was really kind of creative. I just didn’t know what route I wanted to take. So that’s what Ragsdale kind of pulled up out of me, kind of gave me a better chance to express myself,” says Ellison.
The ODYSSEY Media Groups’ mission statement states that it “educates student journalists, providing them with opportunities for growth as communicators, leaders and advocates for justice.” Ellison relates his experience as one of Ragsdale’s students to the movie Freedom Writers. He says that despite his fellow students coming from so many diverse backgrounds, when they were in that room together everyone was family. He fondly recalls one of Ragsdale’s writing assignments encouraging students to write a personal story about themself that only he would see. Ellison says the exercise made him feel closer to his teacher, but also helped him find his own voice and how to share it.
The song and accompanying music video Ellison released is “ODYSSEY Media Group,” now streaming and available on YouTube. However, his collaboration with the Clarke Central students didn’t stop there. Daniel Cruz, a Clarke Central 2024 graduate who also was a member of the ODYSSEY, teamed up with Ellison for a photoshoot at the high school. The cover photo of this week’s issue of Flagpole and the accompanying interior photo were both taken by Cruz. He’s an aspiring photographer and filmmaker that’s already producing quality work thanks to the learning tools at Clarke Central.
“The ODYSSEY was my safe haven,” says Ellison. “I guess that’s what the music video did, for me at least… I was able to go back and see how much my school has grown, see how much my city has grown.”
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