Not every student is into sports or possess musical talent. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t get involved with their school. Joining yearbook allows students to get involved in a myriad of different activities – from mingling with students, to attending school events, and actively participating in something that benefits the entire school body. Students benefit from yearbook just as much as the schools do in creating a positive school spirit. And when kids have school spirit, they perform better as students.
Our yearbook staff is never short on deadlines. But even though they sound stressful, deadlines have been very beneficial in helping us learn skills that we will use through school, college, and the rest of our lives. Time management, prioritizing, reliability, and the responsibility of following through on tasks when others are depending on you are just the tip of the iceberg of skills that we have learned when working on a yearbook.
Writing for yearbooks is a lot harder than it might seem. When we are forced to use rules of proper attribution, go through an in-depth interviewing process including follow ups, or are crafting a creative piece, we build upon the fundamentals that we learned in English class. Practice makes perfect and the more you write, the better you get at it.
Photography, photoshopping, page layouts, yearbook themes, design ideas – putting together a yearbook from start to finish is full of tasks that get the creative juices flowing. It’s very rewarding for us to have the physical proof to show for all of that hard work we have put in over the course of the year. When anyone first starts a project, it’s easy to get lost in all of the details. But being able to look back at the end and see your creation is a great feeling that gives students a strong sense of pride.
One of the most important things that I learned working in yearbook is that I could be more than a follower – I could be a leader. This is quite an odd concept for me, but it did happen. Being in a leadership position during most of my time in yearbook (assistant editor-sophomore year and editor in chief - junior and senior year) allowed me to feel not only respected but valued as an individual. Overall, Yearbook has helped me become a better writer, photographer, facilitator, leader, and person. The skills learned through the activity can be transferred to most fields of study once you graduate. As we say, “Once a yerd, always a yerd! (Yearbook + nerd = yerd)”