Although it seems like a simple task, putting together a book is actually a difficult job that takes a staff of over 20 students and several advisors to make it the award-winning yearbook that it is.
“Yearbook is a journalism class made up of hard working and willing students who create a book that their peers will enjoy,” said sophomore Mabry Looper. “The book is a way to remember what each year of high school was like and feature every student in a memorable way so that they experience highschool through the pages for years to come.”
This staff of 23 high school students from all grades and sessions and 2 advisors works tirelessly to make sure that they are creating the best possible product for the student body to purchase. This work does not go without reward, though.
Yearbook has won many awards, including overall excellence. Members of the staff have also received individual awards.
From laying out pages to designing spreads to managing the social media, Yim has played a crucial role in all aspects of the class.
“Last year, I made the layouts for the 14 awards we won, and I won four personal awards,” said Yim. “Me and Mabry Looper won an on the spot social media award as well.”
All of these awards make joining the yearbook staff difficult. Many students apply and only a select few are accepted each year. This makes students like Ava Fannin unique, as she was accepted as a freshman.
“I like it because I heard it was hard to make it freshman year,” said Fannin. “It’s been really fun being the only freshmen on staff, but the hardest part is definitely the cram weeks.”
Because the staff works on a tight schedule with hard deadlines, they make sure all of their new members are up to the task through their application process.
“Applying to be a part of yearbook can be challenging,” said sophomore Ella Bone. “There are many other people working hard to get on, and you want to submit your best work to prove you deserve to be on staff.”
Once students do get accepted onto the yearbook staff, they are welcomed into the yearbook family. Hangouts and bonding events regularly occur.
“A lot of things we do as a staff are kind of a secret, and you’d only know about them if you’re on staff, but one thing we always do is we always have ‘family dinners,’ especially during homecoming week, just to eat and spend time together,” said Yim.
The work is well worth it when the final printed book arrives and the staff gets to look at their hard work all combined together to create a product that the whole school looks forward to receiving.
“I’ve seen so many of my photos in the book, so I’m excited for that,” said Fannin. “I’m also really excited to hand out the book this year and to see it all on paper.”