This article was written by Molly Pepin, a senior in the journalism class here at U-32.
As the leaves change and fall, many seniors turn their attention to selecting their senior quotes and photos. Selecting a quote and photo can be very personal and many seniors wanted to convey a message from their lives to others that may be inspirational. “It’s kind of like passing on your legacy,” said Cody Bates, a senior at U-32.
Cody wants his picture to be positive to incoming students. He believes seniors are role models and that their quotes should reflect on their journey at U-32 to influence younger students. “They should do something to make them feel good about coming into a new school, because normally it can be kind of scary,” said Cody.
Finally being old enough to select a photo and quote makes seniors feel proud. “I feel like I’m super important now, and I’m like a celebrity,” said Evelyn Rocha, a senior at U-32. Evelyn said that it is important that her quote and photo represents her and she loves to have a special place in the yearbook.
Many seniors have taken time to consider their location for their photos which can be a fun way to find inspiration. “I have a whole pinterest board for it,” said Evelyn. Evelyn wanted to include a portrait of herself that is personal to her. She said that she wanted her portrait to be taken with her cat or in her backyard because they are important aspects in her life.
Other seniors have chosen to select a quote that stands out among the others. “ I feel like if you do a quote that everybody knows, it’s not going to be as important,” said Garret Links, a senior at U-32. Garret wants his quote to be empowering to rising high school students.
Garret also wants his quote and photo to be symbolic to current highschoolers. He wants his quote to reflect on time and how people can make up lies throughout high school. “You have to let time pass, and as time passes, people understand that those lies are not true,” said Garret. Garret wants his senior portrait to be during the winter to represent how people in high school can be cold to motivate students to push through challenges.
Teachers who are involved with the yearbook expressed their love of seeing the senior photos and quotes. “I think the photo is really about representing who they are,” said Krista Dy, an art teacher that helps collaborate on the yearbook. Teachers who are yearbook collaborators provide seniors with free photography from the school to ensure that every student has an appearance in the yearbook. “I get excited every year to see all the photos. This year, we have about 15 photographers too, so I’m hoping that we will get a better mix,” said Sara Wolf, a yearbook collaborator and Admin assistant of Technology . Sara is looking forward to seeing the diversity of the different events occurring around the school.
Krista, along with Sara Wolf, is in charge of photography, and finalizing the yearbook. While Sara is in charge of working with the yearbook editors to create the yearbook design, Krista provides students with free photography. “I’ll take photos for students who don’t have the money for it, or don’t feel like going to get them professionally done, so I try to help them out,” said Krista.
Another joyful aspect of the senior yearbook section are the baby photographs. The yearbook staff said that it is special for them to receive baby photographs to incorporate in the yearbook because it shows a representation of time.“The end slideshow is a really cool thing where you see the baby and them as their graduating high school,” said Krista.
The yearbook has a section specifically for messages of recognition for seniors.The yearbook staff loves incorporating messages from families that show student growth. “I [love to see] them thanking those that have supported them, the teachers, their friends, [and] their family,” said Sara. It brings a smile to teachers’ faces to see the love and support that families give to students. Teachers say that this is an important section because it gives families the opportunity to appreciate a student’s journey.
When the yearbook is ready to be published, it can be overwhelming. The yearbook collaborators work hard to make the yearbook organized and nice. “[Our] worst fear is that there’s going to be an error in there,” said Sara.
The yearbook staff wants seniors to feel that they have the freedom to make their own choice about the photo they select. The main requirement for senior portraits is that they’re considered appropriate and that they’re a portrait. As long as the seniors follow these rules, Sara said, “They can submit anything that they want.”
