Why you should join the Aquilla staff

by Owen S.

Many students look forward to receiving their yearbook to commemorate the school year and remember all the good times they had, but very few ever consider all the hard work that went into creating it. The yearbook class at Airport High School is an often disregarded option in the line-up of extracurriculars, but this group of students is solely responsible, under the tutelage of Mrs. Atkins, for producing the whole 200 page annual. In my last three years of being on the yearbook staff, we have had one of the smallest class sizes of any elective I’ve seen, only ever reaching double digits in two of my six semesters. For whatever reason, no one wants to join or stay in yearbook, but I think it’s one of the best things you could possibly be a part of at Airport.

One of the most beneficial effects of working on the yearbook staff is the improvements one can make in his writing. Ironically, this is one of the reasons students cite as not wanting to join yearbook. It’s especially rare to find someone who enjoys writing a lot, let alone writing something without the use of a prompt about something that actually happened in a style most high school students have never used before. But despite what you might think, there are several benefits to all of this grueling writing. Most importantly, having good writing skills is something that can help you in many aspects of life, such as creating applications and resumes, as well as becoming a better communicator in the workplace. It’s not all about boring jobs and emails, though. Yearbook can introduce you to world journalism and creative writing. You may discover a love for being in the middle of the action, conducting interviews and recording events as they happen in real time, or you could find yourself looking for newer and better ways to craft an interesting and engaging story. No matter how you use it, you’ll come out of the class with unmatched writing talent. Not being a good writer is a reason to join this class because your writing will improve as a result of taking it.

What’s more important than the writing, however, is how the book looks, and getting to learn graphic design through the class is a major perk. The class revolves mainly around creating the look of the book and learning and exploring its two main components: graphic design and photography. For the more artistically inclined students, yearbook can introduce you to and maybe even ignite a passion for these mediums. The software used to make the book has many different tools for creating whatever you could think of. And for aspiring photographers, you can learn a lot about how to properly use a camera, get to know all the little techniques and tricks that help your pictures look their best, and gain tons of experience in journalistic photography. There’s a great sense of accomplishment that comes with the job as well when you get to express your own personal style in the book and see it become a real physical thing that you can look back at and appreciate. Personally, I’ve grown to love graphic design so much that I’ve decided to major in it in college, and I never would have considered doing that if it weren’t for this class.

If the promise of boundless yearbook wisdom is still not enough for you, then there’s one last thing that may be better than anything else. The people. As is the case for any elective class, you can meet people you never would have met otherwise. First of all, Mrs. Atkins, the yearbook teacher, is great at what she does and makes the class very fun and she is always willing to help you with whatever problem you might have. Equally as important are your fellow staff members. The yearbook could be the start to a beautiful friendship, or just be a chance to work with someone new and possibly learn a thing or two from them. The first time I had to work on a page with someone, I was very nervous, but once we got to know each other, we had a lot of fun completing work and continued to work on projects together, and we’re still friends to this day. You can also learn to be a great leader by coordinating with other members of the staff to get your work done faster. Developing communication skills like this is basically a requirement for the class, but is greatly important to life going forward. Not just for business meetings or zoom calls, but in everyday life.

Although all these things made the class so great to me, some may say that it is so overloaded with content that it can be difficult to get into. However, it’s very unlikely that you’ll be tasked with doing every single thing. Each member is assigned a different role based on what they’re best at and what they enjoy doing the most, which makes it easier to focus on what actually matters to you. And if more people joined the staff, it would be even easier to divide up the responsibilities. Another point of concern is the fact that the class lasts for the entire school year. It might feel like you’re making too big of a commitment to something you may not even like, but the amount of different things you can learn and experience in just this one class makes it all worth it.

Senior Dayanara A, a two time yearbook staff member, said, “You’re able to get creative and express yourself while being a part of making something you’ll have for the rest of your life.” She feels that the best part of the class is getting to design pages within a framework that allows for creativity while still working within a set of rules that makes it more fun and accessible. The reward of creating a whole book to have and admire is a big motivator as well. For some people, yearbook ticks off all of the boxes for the perfect learning experience. Marly S, another senior, said, “I thought that making the yearbook and taking pictures and organizing it all sounded really fun,” but she was unfortunately unable to join the class due to her schedule already being full. Maybe by giving the class a shot, you’ll come to be just as passionate about it as they are. You never know what you’re missing out on until you try it yourself.

To reiterate, yearbook is one of the greatest classes provided at Airport for all of the different valuable skills one can learn in a single elective. Whether your passion lies in photography, design, journalism, writing, or teamwork, there’s something in it for everyone. So next time you’re picking classes for next year and you're not quite sure what to choose, consider giving yearbook a try! You might just learn a thing or two. Or fifty.