UHSpress headquarters were lively Tuesday morning on November 13, as staffers and editors crammed the front wooden table with desserts, sugary drinks and hot entrées like macaroni and cheese. Staffers helped push back the long tables and chairs to create an open space for the ceremony and dance floor. Meanwhile, others smoothed down the creases in their clothes or reread their vows every five seconds. The traditional wedding celebration at UHSpress is not only a chance for the staffers and editors to commit themselves to the yearbook by “marriage”, but also solidify their positions within the club.
“It made me feel good that I could make an actual commitment because yearbook really is a commitment to not only the staffers and members, but to the school because this book is so important,” sophomore staffer Moriah Lopez said. “I vowed to try my hardest at all times to meet the task required and never give up.”
Staffers not only dedicate and sacrifice their time to help capture memories for the entire school, but the student leaders take into account the works of their past yearbooks and continue to teach staffers how to improve.
“I want to, as a managing editor, train my staffers and aid them in their abilities.” senior Managing Editor Joseph Arquette said. “I want to try to incorporate a lot more people in this book, get better photos, try getting better stories and teaching all the people around me new and important things about how they can do that and have them teach me as well. But as far as this book directly goes… I truly believe that by the end of the year, we’re going to be hearing some great news about our book. ”
The student leaders, or editors, within the club not only try to better the yearbook for the school, but better themselves and their skills along the way.
“I feel like improvement in the program starts with improvement in yourself,” senior co Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Jackson said. “I knew that I wasn’t great at photography, I wasn’t great at design… but I’ve gotten a little bit better at design now and I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better at photography, even in the past three months. But I feel like… it just has to start with you. Look at examples of the work that’s out there already. If you don’t show what you want something to look like, it’s hard for a staffer or for anybody to know what you want.”
Not only do the students get to promise their all when making spreads or meeting deadlines, they discovered a new home along the way.
“My experience this year has really been eye opening,” sophomore staffer Chloe Evers said. “Since the beginning of the year I’ve really grown so much. Not only as a staffer, but as a person. I no longer felt like a newbie just watching everybody else do their parts. It was a moment when I really had a place in the staff, and I was able to look around at everybody and be totally comfortable with them. Hearing everybody’s vows just made the atmosphere so positive and made me feel at home.”
