A Letter From the Publisher

By Robert L. Miller

You all know the fellow on the left, but the one with the notebook is probably a little less familiar. He is John Parmelee, 17, a high school senior in the District of Columbia who saw his dream come true last week when he interviewed Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office. "He put me at ease immediately," Parmelee said. The student spent ten minutes with the President, asking him, among other things, how life had been different when Reagan was 17. "I wasn't doing what you're doing," the President said with a smile to his White House visitor.

Parmelee's session with the President was part of Odyssey Project, a joint endeavor of Time Inc. and the District of Columbia public schools. The program's participants discuss heroes in literature, then write profiles of Washington notables whom they admire. This year the ten students who took part in the project picked, among others, a city official, a sports star -- and one U.S. President. After choosing Reagan last winter, Parmelee was astonished when his interview was granted. His article on the President, including pictures by Odyssey Student Photographer Marta Effinger, will appear in Looking for Heroes, the Odyssey Project magazine.

The program's purpose is to improve students' writing skills while at the same time introducing them to the world of publishing. Nearly two dozen Time Inc. volunteers work with the students. "I find the sessions are often as helpful to me as they are to the kids," says Washington Correspondent David Beckwith, who conducted workshops and edited several profiles when he was not covering George Bush on the campaign trail. "They tend to ask the fundamental 'why' questions that force you to go back and examine things you normally take for granted."

The Odyssey Project, now in its third year, complements the company's Time to Read program, through which TIME employees have tutored hundreds across the country. "Odyssey leaves room for a lot of creativity," says Sean Riley, 18, who plans to profile Redskins Quarterback Doug Williams. "What you write about is up to you, and you have to learn to be independent." More students may soon learn firsthand what Riley means: Washington school officials are considering expanding the Odyssey Project concept so that special training in writing skills will be available to all of the district's students.