by Jordyn Newsome
VOX ATL recently came to North Springs! Last Thursday was their last meeting of this year. But what is VOX ATL, you may ask? What do they do, and why did they come to North Springs?
VOX ATL is a journalistic program specializing in uplifting teen voices in the metro Atlanta area, focusing on diversity, life experiences and inclusion. Their motto is “Teens First” showing that they focus on giving teenagers a place to express their opinions without censorship and little intervention. They host various conferences to multiple areas in Atlanta, with one of those locations being North Springs.
Vox hosted four meetings this semester, in which anyone interested in journalism, podcast creation, or editing could join to learn more about said professions. They were all around 90 minutes long, during a class period with excused absence. During the meetings, members would talk about the contributions VOX ATL has made to free speech in journalism, editing techniques, ideas on podcasts, etc. The idea that the group landed on was to speak about mental health in teens and the general misconceptions around that.
As I participated in VOX ATL, I interviewed Alexis Justice about her Vox experience.
Oracle: Why did you choose to attend the VOX ATL meetings?
Alexis Justice: I was there last year, and it was really cool! I got to be part of a podcast, got to read some articles that were very interesting, so yeah I came back!”
Oracle: What did you do with VOX this time around, what was the process and what was the end result?
Alexis: We mostly focused on producing an actual podcast about mental health. I don’t think I was here for writing out the script but I did do the ending of it, the saying goodbye.
Oracle: Are you proud of the work you did?
Alexis: Yeah, I’m proud of it! Mostly about the mental health and mental illness. It was a fun process!
Oracle: What was the most informative part for you, what did you learn that you didn’t know before?
Alexis: I learned some new stuff on how to make a podcast, either by computer or the physical technology you put it on.
Oracle: I know you’re a senior, but if you could come back, would you?
Alexis: Yes, I would.
If this seems interesting to you, but you missed out on all of the meetings, don’t worry! VOX ATL has other events you can attend. On May 1st, they have an Open Mic from 6-8:30 pm, while on May 10th they have a VOX-a-Palooza. Both open to anyone who wants to try it.
Listen to other NSHS-Vox Collaborative Podcasts here:
https://voxatl.org/tag/north-springs-high-school
For more info about Vox:
