Publications students from years past share their views on why a publications class is valuable:

Brittany (Waldon) Chartier, Editor, 2003, 2004, 2005:

In high school you will take a variety of courses that will prepare you for life and for some of the courses you will take in college. For me, a course that taught me the most about the real world and would prove most valuable as a manager was yearbook. I do not have a career in graphic design, photography, or journalism but I did learn the importance of deadlines and the pressure of doing a good job. All of these are real world situations. Not to mention having to get along with fellow staffers or having to lead a team when you are an editor.

Before I was 18, I knew what working overtime was and appreciated the result of all my extra hours put in. Being on yearbook single handed landed me my first real job because I lacked “work” experience but the manager that hired me served as a yearbook editor and I impressed her. This situation is huge because you are in a group of people that have the same resume (No experience just a college degree) so having something like yearbook on mine made a huge difference. So many times an emphasis is put on straight academics which help get you to college but what about life after college? Yearbook taught me real life before I even had my first job. I can not express enough how much yearbook helped me with my future and for someone to steer their child away from yearbook for ANOTHER AP class makes me sad because both types of classes have valuable aspects in making a student diverse and in this day in age, hire-able.

Rachel Stoeckel, Editor, 2011, 2012, 2013:

I can’t thank yearbook enough for getting me where I am today! The leadership and business skills I acquired from being the editor got me my job at Costco and sent me on my path to a business management degree! Taking yearbook was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for my career!

Jenny Bert, Staff, 2006:

I feel like the best thing I got out of being in yearbook was talking to people. People skills is a big skill everyone needs to have in everyday life situations. Before I was in yearbook I wouldn’t have talked to so many different people, but I had to for taking pictures. Yearbook helped me leave my comfort zone, where I only spoke to my friends. If I ever had to redo high school, I would be a part of that class all over again.

Tristine Vandeman, Staff, 2014:

I can tell you that 100% of what I learned in journalism and yearbook has benefited me in almost every class I’ve taken. And not just because my major is TV film and video broadcasting. The strict grammar requirements pay off in college level English, and yearbook’s attention to detail and graphic design helped me pass a class with a 4.0 because the teacher liked my power point layout so much. It’s important to learn these trades because no matter what career field you want to go to you need to know how to write well and make something look good and professional. Out in the real world there’s only one thing that gets you new opportunities and that’s how you sell yourself. If you can’t make a resume look unique and sound professional then you won’t get the interview. If you don’t have a creative background, or at least a seemingly creative background then that employer won’t bat an eye at you. Yearbook and Journalism teach professionalism and time management, two of the most essential skills at winning yourself success and opportunities. Just take it from me, I’m lined up to be the next producer of central news watch at CWU. And I’m the previous technical director of Southwest Minnesota State University’s sports broadcasting and media team.
I’m going to start working for the school magazine too, so I’m super thankful for the background I got in Adobe InDesign!

Alicia Peel, Staff, 2014:

Running Start has the potential to isolate students from their classmates. Participating in a school-centric class such as Yearbook or Journalism can keep a student integrated in the community while also teaching them valuable skills.
From Yearbook I learned what it was like to be responsible for documenting other people’s precious memories. It is quite honestly an incredible thing to take an event that may not hold a shred of significance to you personally and commemorate it for someone who will cherish that moment for the rest of their life.
One of my favorite moments in Yearbook was making the Volleyball page in my junior year. I remember one of the seniors on the team coming in to give us some pictures, and she got emotional when she looked at what I and my project mates had done with the page. She explained to us that she would most likely not get to play Volleyball in college. That year was the last year she would be able to play a game she loved with friends she loved as well, and she was so happy that we were putting so much time and effort into making the page. It sounds cheesy to some, sure. But that was one of the first moments in my life that I felt incredibly fulfilled in work that I was doing – work that was for the benefit of someone besides myself.
Yearbook can be a thankless experience at times. Not everyone will be happy when it is published. There will always be a mistake and there will always be something you wish you had done better. But these hardships taught me to persevere, to solve problems, to work as hard as I could, and most importantly: to care about doing my best for others, and accept that not everyone will be pleased by my efforts.