The PMHS Yearbook, Passages, received the top recognition from the Indiana High School Press Association on Feb. 27, after winning the Hoosier Star Award. This award recognizes outstanding work and effort that students put into their yearbook through the year. “Our book was amazing […] we checked off all the boxes for the criteria […] we did exactly what we were supposed to do to the best of [our] ability,” Co-Editor-in-Chief Senior Sydney Rhea said.
When staff members first heard they had won the award, they were excited to see their hard work recognized. This moment was meaningful and unforgettable. “I was in shock. I didn’t expect it,” Senior Thatin Iang said. “[…] The process of making the yearbook was a lot of stress and pressure and to be rewarded for something we had to pull together under our circumstances was amazing.” Not only was this meaningful and unforgettable, it showed the efforts of each person on the yearbook.
Each year the yearbook aims to capture the school year along with representing student experiences. “There were things even photos couldn’t capture and things that were highlighted in stories that most people wouldn’t have known if we didn’t mention.” Iang said.
Producing the yearbook had required months of planning, writing and designing while also balancing school responsibilities. “We all had things going on in and outside of the classroom so every page truly resembled all the ways we pushed ourselves to keep going.” Iang said. However, the team supported each other throughout the process by communicating and encouraging each other to keep improving their work. “Ms. Delon was our advisor and Mr. Sutton also helped out. Ms. Delon was absent for most of the year but when [she] was here, she was a constant reminder that we had to give each spread our full effort,” Iang said.
Rhea finds the yearbook ever more important today because it allows time for memories to be kept in print.“They capture [the year] like a time capsule, and it captures everything that most people don’t see and most people don’t recognize. It gives a lot of people credit […] and I feel like that’s very important,” Rhea said. These pages highlighted events, friendships and activities that happened throughout the school year that students may have forgotten over time.
Although most of the time memories are often shared through social media, the yearbook remains important through time. A yearbook serves as a permanent record of the school year, allowing students to look back on their own personal experiences and memories long after graduation. This legacy of hard work by the yearbook staff is recognized by the Top Recognition in the state, it setting an example and a goal for the program about where dedication through unexpected challenges can lead.
