Shelbi Cannon, Yearbook Editor
After leaving my first Student Publications class, I didn’t think I could do it. I had no experience, and we were already working on a deadline. Flash forward a year, and I’m the next yearbook editor–quite an improvement. This year was not what I had originally planned. From the start, there was an abyss of uncertainty surrounding us, and it felt like we were brainstorming aimlessly. None of us thought we would have a yearbook this year. With canceled events and Covid-19 restrictions, what would we even cover? We pushed ourselves to our limits, sacrificed our dignity, and bonded over missed deadlines. Here at the end, three editors that hardly knew each other came together to form a legacy trio. I am so appreciative of my co-editors Rosie and Sierra for overpowering the stress with humor. A special thank you goes to Warner and Tedrow for being patient with us while we scramble for quotes and replan spread ideas. While I cannot bring myself to look at our yearbook for the sake of recurring perfectionism, I could not be more proud of actually pulling it off.

Brayden Robinson, Publications Staff
This was my first year being a part of the publications staff. And to say it was an adventure would be an understatement. Very few people I know of have ever gone from practice, all the way up to Hamilton South Eastern to take pictures of a girls track meet on a saturday morning. The experiences I was able to have were incredible and ones that I will never forget. All of the stress, headache, and overall pain I experienced was all worth it getting to see the yearbook come together and knowing that you took part in it. Being pushed out of my comfort zone and taking pictures also allowed me to see that i’m a pretty dang good photographer, and has sparked my interest in taking photos of experiences more often so you can hold that memory on forever. I cannot thank my incredible teachers Warner and Tedrow who I had the privilege of learning from in my last year of high school. I wished that I had gotten to meet them early and truly enjoyed my little time with them.

Rosie Mitchell, Yearbook Editor
Spreadsheets suck — especially spreadsheets that have 40 pages full of 600+ names in 24 different colors. Imagine having to scroll through hours worth of work to cover a second of someone’s high school career. That is what I had to do all year. As the sole coverage editor in a COVID-19 stricken year, I came to school every single day during hybrid, even when I didn’t have to. I went to every single classroom. I took a picture of almost every single face. Yet, I still barely know anyone’s name. I came to Publications last year as a bright-eyed youth, and I’m leaving as a matured editor. Without my fellow yearbook editors, Shelbi and Sierra, and the “Masters of Yearbook,” Warner and Tedrow, I could not have survived. My perfectionist heart may pick out the little details and scream at the memories of staying up until 11:00 for the simplest task, but from cover to cover, I am proud of what we have created with our staff. This class has given me a unique perspective on life, fulfilled much of my high school career, and left me wanting to do just one more Publications project.

Sierra Downey, Yearbook Editor
The editors have a saying in Publications that in order to get anything done for the class you have to “lose your dignity to succeed”. As someone who had never stepped foot in the Pubs lab before this year, I never understood the weight of that saying until the moment I saw the confetti come across my computer screen when we submitted the final pages of the yearbook. After spending the past 9 months of my life running into random classrooms to find quotes from students, asking people to stop and take a picture for me in the hallways, and walking on the field in front of everyone during sporting events to get pictures of players, I can tell you that they weren’t kidding: my dignity was gone by September. But the thing is, I am happy it is gone because I gained so much without it. I learned the importance of telling people’s stories, especially the ones that do not always get the opportunity to, I learned how to be a leader and the value of taking a step back to help others learn, and most importantly I learned how to adapt and overcome challenging situations that can sometimes get thrown in the way. This year was a struggle for everyone on multiple accounts, as a pubs team, we could not agree on a theme that captured the year, we were unsure what to cover since almost most things were canceled due to COVID, and we had a deadline looming over us for months that we never thought we would be able to make. Despite all of that negativity, we pulled through and created a book that has captured the true meaning of this school year: how connected we can be in the times where we feel at our most disconnected. That is what happened with my co-editors, Rosie and Shelbi, and me through the course of making this book. We barely knew each other at the start, and after many late nights sitting in the Pubs lab stressing over margins and kickers, we connected and we succeeded. I could not have done anything this year without them, and I am so thankful for the trio that we have formed over the past few months. I would also like to thank Mrs. Warner and Mrs. Tedrow for never letting me accept defeat and pushing not only me, but everyone in the lab, to do the best with what we had. That is a lesson I will carry with me into college, along with all the other tools Publications has gifted me. So yes, to be in Publications you may have to do some embarrassing things, stay after school until the clock reads fifteen past 8, or even throw away your dignity to get the perfect picture, but the reward that comes at the end of all of that is worth more than the trouble that comes at the beginning and in the middle.

Abigail Johnson, CGTV Editor
I only really had one goal when I joined Publications: to become an anchor, get on the air, and overall become a more versatile actor with that. As my freshman year went on, things obviously changed. I learned so much through Publications, like how to make a video in a day, who in choir will give the best quotes, and that every single person has a story to tell. Publications has been a huge cornerstone of my high school career, despite how many weird looks I may get from running around school, begging for quotes and pictures from random people.

It’s been a huge privilege to be able to work with the most amazing people throughout my publications career. The different editors and staff writers have been a joy to learn from and create stories with, and I’m so glad we have gotten this opportunity. Of course, I couldn’t write about my time in publications without thanking the Dream Team that is Warner and Tedrow. Without all of your guidance, patience, and just all of the support you have given throughout the years, I would be lost. Thanks for everything!