At Eagle High, creating the yearbook is a monumental task; it requires creativity, collaboration and a considerable amount of time. Each year, a dedicated group of students come together to capture the culture of the school by documenting the people, events and moments that made the school year unforgettable. Behind all the polished spreads stands a team of editors, photographers, designers and writers, all working together to bring the yearbook to life.
The Eagle High’s Legacy Yearbook class is overseen by English teacher and advisor Cynthia Labenski. Though it’s her first year as advisor, she strives to provide helpful guidance while leaving much of the creative process in the hands of her students and editors.
As an Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook, senior Chloe Brischler has the responsibility of keeping the yearbook staff on track. Her job involves managing the class, assigning tasks and guaranteeing the overall quality of the yearbook.
“We spend a lot of time organizing and making sure everyone is meeting deadlines,” Brischler explained. “But it’s worth it, because we get to see the finished product and know we created something that will last forever.”
Legacy’s work starts long before the final deadline. Throughout the year, staff is constantly busy gathering photos, writing stories and designing pages that come together to form the completed yearbook. The process begins as early as the year before, with the staff brainstorming and planning for what stories will be covered and how. Whether it’s a feature on a school sport, a page covering a memorable event or a mod on a student’s personal achievements, every single spread is carefully thought out.
From start to finish, creating pages is a time-consuming process—most especially when it comes to the editing and design stages.
“We usually have about three weeks to work on each spread,” Brischler said. During that time, a team of staff members is dedicated to interviewing people, taking photos, writing mods—expanded coverage in the form of photo stories, illustrations, surveys, infographics and so on—and working on page design. Once everything is submitted, it goes through several rounds of editing to ensure that every detail is perfect. The editors check for quality, accuracy and flow.
“It’s a lot of teamwork,” Brischler said. “We all rely on each other to make sure the final product is something we can be proud of.”
Senior Copy Editor Haley Allen emphasizes the importance of this collaboration.
“You really have to be open to feedback from others. Everyone has their own strengths, whether it’s photography, writing or design … we all depend on each other to make it all come together,” Allen said.
For many staff members, making the yearbook is so much more than just documenting the school year. It allows them to interact with people they might not have even met otherwise.
As the yearbook class highlights students, they learn about their classmates in ways they might never have expected. This connection makes the yearbook a special project for all students involved. It celebrates the school community and preserves memories for years to come.
“It really opens you up to other people, things you weren’t there for… and hopefully in 30 years, you’ll look back and be like… wow,” Brischler said. She believes that working on the yearbook, or even just looking through it, can help students to realize they have much more in common with their classmates than they may realize. By doing so, it fuels student connection.
However, of course, the job isn’t without its challenges. The most difficult moments often come toward the end of the year when deadlines loom large. Staff members, most especially editors, work long hours to get the book finished on time, sometimes working from home and staying up late into the evening to put finishing touches on the design. But for Legacy, the final stretch is also one of the most rewarding parts of the process.
“[It] was a very stressful whirlwind…We’re in this mindset of getting it done so we can celebrate… This is our last push for quality, so we’re really trying not to let our standards slip,” Allen said. “We feel motivated and [we’re] keep[ing] energy high, so we can finish with a bang.”
There’s no doubt that Eagle High’s Legacy Yearbook staff is a group with unrivaled passion regarding their work. The time, effort and energy they put into the yearbook is a testament to their dedication towards preserving the memories of the school year.
When students finally receive their yearbooks, the hours of hard work that went into it all becomes evident. It’s not just a collection of photos and stories; it’s a piece of history. It’s a snapshot of the students, teachers and events that made Eagle High unique that year.
As the yearbook staff looks to the future, they’re already thinking about what they’ll create next year. As staff members returns to the class in the fall, they will continue to learn, grow and refine their skills in the art of yearbook-making.
