Testimonials from my team
“Sydney leads by example. She welcomes input and feedback, which makes people comfortable following her. At the same time, she is decisive. She is aware of the big picture and manages the process so as to stay focused on the end goal.” – Amy Morrison, Yearbook Advisor
“Sydney and I have a very symbiotic relationship. I’d like to think that we work really well together because she is great at fostering great connections with those around her. Her ability to communicate with several groups and ensure the information is communicated effectively makes our production process run as smooth as possible.” – Evelyn Malone, Design Editor
“Working with Sydney is such a breath of fresh air because she is consistent, reliable, and forward-thinking. Her work ethic is unwavering and builds my confidence in our success. Her skills in organization and focus are both things I lack, so I’m glad she is on our team to keep us in check. I appreciate that she is constantly available to offer support and help find solutions. Without her clear vision and ability to relay feedback, we would be helpless.” – Scott Russomano, Sports Editor
“With it being my first year in yearbook, I was definitely nervous but ever since we shared a room at yearbook camp and got close, I knew Sydney would be there for me. Any time I have questions, she has an answer and I have always been comfortable asking her for help. She puts the right amount of stress on deadlines so that I know I have to get things done. She is always kind and helping people, but is not afraid to show them what’s up. Overall, she is the best leader I have ever had.” – Lily Robert, first-year staffer
Serving as Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook staff has been both challenging and incredibly rewarding. Teaching and mentoring my staff has been one of the most fulfilling parts of the job; watching my team grow in their skills and confidence makes every late night and frustrating moment worth it. However, it took a lot of work to transform a team of high schoolers with no experience into talented photographers, interviewers, writers, and designers.
Yearbook Camp
My journey with yearbook began at Rocky Mountain Journalism Camp in 2022, when I was a sophomore preparing for my first year on staff. This year, we brought back nearly all of our returning staff members, along with a few new ones from SkillsUSA to Yearbooks @ The Beach camp in Long Beach, California. Over that long weekend, I led our staff in collaboration that resulted in our book’s visual and verbal themes.
Verbal
In late spring and early summer of 2024, my returning staff brainstormed the message we wanted our book to evoke. Our last two books were bold, confident, and striking, so we decided this year’s story would be about embracing the unknown the year has to offer, being free-flowing and optimistic, and celebrating what happens each day. With this in mind, our editorial staff landed on the verbal theme, “This is what today looks like!”
Our staffers attended workshops about content brainstorming, writing titles using the words in our verbal, skill lessons, and more while the editors and I nailed down our visuals.
Visuals
Based on the visual inspirations above and our color palette (inspired by that stack of sweaters we saw in a beachfront store), my design editor and I created our style guide. The style guide established a cohesive look for the yearbook that has kept our design organized throughout the year.
Finally, the editorial staff and I planned out our coverage using our digital ladder. We labeled the content that is planned for each spread and whose responsibility it is (which makes grading easy), used color codes to indicate the status of each spread, and tracked which clubs have been covered in our chronological clubs & academics section. Here is what the ladder looks like with two weeks left of production.
Once we came back to school with our theme in place, I had to teach the new members how to acquire the technical, workplace, and leadership skills they would need for the year.
my curriculum
For the first eight weeks of the school year, I taught the class (with the help of my advisor and editors) the skills they need to succeed in yearbook and encouraged team bonding through fun activities. This curriculum included presentations, quizzes, and whole class/small group activities on interview question writing, caption formatting, types of photography, design rules, and more. While I know those lessons helped them grow into strong journalists, I am most proud of the work I did to bond our staff.
Team bonding activities
One of the team-bonding activities I led was rock painting, a creative task about team accountability. The class spent the day chatting and painting the rocks of their dreams. Minions, scenic landscapes, fruits, googly eyes, and cameras came to life on the faces of these rocks. At the end of the hour, I asked my staff, “Why do you think we did this activity?” They surmised it was to spend time getting to know each other or express themselves, but that was not it. I told them they were required, for the next week, to keep their rock on them at all times. If a staffer was caught without their rock, they would have to carry everyone else’s. This task (inversely) physically represents what happens when a team member drops the ball, everyone else has more weight to carry. Thankfully, no one was caught without their rock, and in turn, we have fostered a culture of responsibility and time-management on staff.
My lessons & assignments
My advisor and I adapted Varsity Yearbooks (our publisher) templates and created our own documents to provide the staff with educational lessons and assignments in the areas of photography, interviewing, copy writing, and design. Below is an example of a day in the classroom during my curriculum.
example: informal interview lesson & assignment
During Week 3, I taught the class how to conduct an informal interview using these slides I adapted from a Varsity Yearbooks presentation.
Afterwards, I assigned them this worksheet and said to conduct five informal interviews with at least one in each coverage section–student life, clubs & academics, and sports.
The staff has continued to use this type of interview to brainstorm content and develop questions for formal interviews.
Editing
Leading a team of creatives, I’ve had to balance high expectations with patience, guiding my staff through design, writing, and deadline pressures. I set my staff deadlines for at least a week before the publisher deadline so I have time to walk them through changes that need to be made.
Below is an example of a time I demonstrated editorial leadership. My staffer came to me with the proof of his first spread, asking for help, and I helped him revise and edit.
Proof
My Feedback
Final Submission
Through collaboration and problem-solving, my staffer and I created a much-improved final product. As Editor-in-Chief, my proudest accomplishment has been fostering a strong, supportive team–ensuring that this year’s book will be a product in which we can all take pride.