At the end of every year, nearly every student gets something fantastic. Well what is that fantastic thing you might ask? That thing embodies amazing emotions and feelings. You open it for the first time and hear the spine crack, you take a whiff and smell that new smell of freshly printed paper, you touch the book and feel the glossy cover. You look down to your hands to see this year’s yearbook.
A yearbook is filled with memories from that school year, it is a book you keep forever to remember those awful high school years, and a book that your kids eventually find and make fun of you for. Even so, high school has its positives, and the yearbook staff works hard to make sure you have those memories forever.
You might not put a lot of thought into what the yearbook means, who put the yearbook together, and how much work it took. The yearbook staff works year-round to make sure that the yearbook perfectly embodies everything that happened that year. This year has been even more difficult because of COVID-19 restrictions; masks need to be correctly worn on every person in every picture, or it doesn’t go in the yearbook. Team pictures need to be rescheduled, along with clubs and activities. Many events have been cancelled because of COVID-19 mandates, and so we have to figure out other events and ideas to put into the book.
Because of all of this, I wanted to give you all a behind-the-scenes look at the staff, and give them the recognition they might not always get, but definitely deserve. I interviewed each staff member to give this article a personal touch.
First, let’s introduce our staff: Emilie Brinser and Cailey Glatz are our fantastic editors, and our Seniors. They make sure the book is organized, they assign pages, they make sure everything is running smoothly, and help the other staff members out when they need it. Below are some of the questions I asked them.
What was the most challenging aspect of creating the book this year?
Emilie: “The most challenging aspect of creating the book this year was figuring out what events were going to be held and which weren't. This affected the amount of pages that we needed for each deadline and where each event would be placed in the book as well as the amount of space needed for each event.”
What was your favorite part about creating the book this year?
Cailey: “My favorite part is working with everyone and having fun together while we edit pages. Another favorite of mine is the feeling when you get the physical copy of the book when it's all done. I always feel proud that we got that far in creating something so memorable.”
What is something most people don't know about the yearbook (and/or it's staff)?
Emilie: “Most people don't know the amount of work that goes into creating the book. I can't tell you how many nights I've stayed up until 1 AM working on the book to be sure that everything was done that needed to be done and that we wouldn't miss our deadline.”
Cailey: “I feel like people think it's nothing but stress and deadlines, but I feel with using your creativity, it is so much more than that. If you use time management well, it's nothing but fun in creating something that everyone is going to be able to enjoy at the end of the year.”
Other notes from our editors:
Emilie: “My favorite part about working with the staff is hearing everyone's creative input because everyone has a different idea on what to do. Some of the ideas the staff has come up with has really surprised me and has added another element to the book that I never would have thought of doing.”
Cailey: “As a senior, I'll probably miss yearbook the most.”
Next I’ll introduce our snack manager, the one and only Grant Sheffer. Grant is one of three Juniors and makes sure we get our chocolate and snacks in yearbook, and always makes sure everyone is smiling and having a good time -- even if it’s at his own expense.
What was your favorite part about creating the book this year?
“My personal favorite part of the book is the snacks. I really enjoy the snacks.”
What is something most people don't know about the yearbook (and/or it's staff)?
“I believe most people more or less don't understand this than know it but: our deadlines are non-negotiable. When we ask somebody for something, we typically require it the second we send the message. I also think many people don't understand that yearbook "class" is less of a class and more of a room that we get together in and occasionally discuss the book. Most of the time it feels like I'm hanging out with friends or so deep in working on a page that time flies by so fast!”
What is your favorite part about working with the staff?
“Working with the staff is both a blessing and the worst thing possible. On it's best days, we can get together and agree on good pages, games, or even correct shirt colors. On the worst days, things get heated because we don't agree upon correct shirt colors.”
Now let me introduce our newest staff members: Emma Atherton and Rocky Shuler. Emma is the only Sophomore on the staff, but has been working just as hard to learn her way around the book, take pictures, and get along with the staff. Rocky is one of the Juniors, and he has written some of the most fantastic writings we’ve had in the yearbook in a long time. Let’s take a look at their thoughts on working on the yearbook for the first time!
What was the most challenging aspect of creating the book this year?
Emma: “I felt it was getting the pages done in time and getting people to answer before a deadline.”
What was your favorite part about creating the book this year?
Emma: “Getting to just put my very own creativity into a book which others will get to see.”
Rocky: “I really enjoyed the theme we chose this year, especially the rainbow aspect. It made the sections really stand out and Cailey's cover art complimented it perfectly.”
What is your favorite kind of page to create (sports, student life, you don't care, etc.)?
Rocky: “I like student life / trivia pages because that's what really makes the yearbook a Greenwood yearbook, and not just any school's yearbook. you can be more creative with these pages since there is no set grid to follow.”
What is your favorite part about working with the staff?
Emma: “Getting to laugh together about pages we didn’t like and quotes people said but also getting to know them each because I hadn’t known any of them before joining.”
Rocky: “The yearbook staff is really easy to get along with and we laugh about dumb things a lot (but mostly about whether Grant's shirt is gray or white).”
Finally, the person who made it all possible, the one who put the staff together and keeps us all on track, while making us excited and motivated to make the yearbook. English teacher by day, yearbook advisor period 11, she is Mrs. Miller.
As advisor, what is your favorite part about creating the yearbook?
“Though I love many aspects of creating the yearbook, my absolute favorite part is delivery day! When books are delivered, the staff and I gather around a table and crack open the book for the first time. The kids beam with pride, and there's such a sense of accomplishment. It's a really cool moment to witness!”
The most challenging part?
“Meeting deadlines! One aspect of qualifying for Jostens National Yearbook Program of Excellence is that we meet every deadline, so that adds some pressure. To help the staff meet each of our major publication deadlines, we set mini-deadlines and schedule frequent editing and feedback sessions. Oh, and to encourage them to meet the deadlines, we have a pizza party after each one is met. Who doesn't love pizza, right? It's a great incentive!”
What is something that most people don't know about the yearbook (and/or it's staff)?
“Our staff is quite small, but they are responsible for so much. This year we have 6 students working on the book, and they work diligently to create a comprehensive and inclusive book for our students. The staff is responsible for designing the cover, choosing a theme, creating all page designs, taking photographs, writing copy, and getting business ad donations from local businesses.”
What is your favorite part about working with the staff?
“I love their personalities. Each student brings a strength to the group, and they all band together to help one another out. We have a lot of fun!”
A final note from Mrs. Miller:
*Important!!*
“Due to COVID, yearbooks will be delivered in August this year. Jostens is offering digital signing to all students, even if they have not purchased yearbooks. They piloted the program last year, and the features are great! Information regarding both will be communicated in the coming weeks.
If you have a knack for digital design, photography, or writing, or have an interest in learning how to create a publication, then we want you on our team!”
Like Mrs. Miller said above, we have a hard working staff and have a lot of fun, and we are excited to start receiving applications to see who will join our staff next year! Please consider joining if it even slightly interests you!
As a final note, I wanted to put out there how proud I am of the staff this year. Watching every member grow has been amazing. While creating the book this year has been demanding, every staff member rose to the challenge and ended up creating one of the best books this school has yet seen, and we can’t wait to share our hard work with all of you!
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