The task:  encapsulating every high school memory into a singular book. The people:  a group who work tirelessly to make sure all the small moments are remembered in a keepsake that lives in your house forever. The yearbook staff shoulders this heavy, often overlooked, responsibility. After they became Pacemaker finalists for last year’s book, some of their hard work earned some well-deserved recognition. 

The National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) Pacemaker, which is among the most established awards in scholastic journalism, has a long-standing history. After the organization was founded in 1921, they promptly began granting this prestigious award upon high school newspapers. Over time, the competition expanded to reward  yearbooks, magazines, online sites, and broadcast programs. The yearbooks chosen as Pacemaker finalists demonstrate compelling visual and verbal storytelling. The highly selective judges only chose around 20% of the entries. Two groups of three judges dedicated three days to evaluating every entry and discussing its strengths. To determine each entry’s status, at least two of the three judges reached a consensus. Upon completion of the process, 44 finalists were selected, representing the top 15% of all submissions.

After hours of relentless hard work and dedication, the yearbook staff’s final product was chosen as a pacemaker finalist for their yearbook from the school year of 2021-2022. A co-Editor-in-Chief this year, junior Naolee Makonnen worked on last year’s book as a first year staff member. “It feels good knowing that all of this hard work actually paid off,” Makonnen said. “It is a nice recognition, because I feel like people don’t realize the time commitment the yearbook staff has.” Makonnen and her peers work on their deadlines on weekends, during class and during study hall, which result in “a real time commitment with strict deadlines.”  Makonnen is proud of the work last year’s staff accomplished. “To have all of that honored and recognized is a really good feeling,” she said. 
Co-Editor-in-Chief Miriam Ahmed is a senior who also worked on last year’s yearbook as a first year staff member. Ahmed and her fellow staffers faced obstacles prior to finishing last year’s yearbook and its recognition. “It was a struggle coming back from COVID,” Ahmed said. “We had to find our footing again, because all of our editors had graduated, so we started with a fresh set of editors.” With a fresh staff, it is difficult for members to find their initial momentum, especially with a responsibility as big as the school yearbook. “So, having that work recognized meant a lot, because it showed that the work we put in to create the program again paid off.”

Prior to all of this success, the yearbook staff goes through relentless preparation and work before they have a final book to share with the school. 

The process starts in July, when the entire yearbook staff visits JMU to participate in a three-day long yearbook camp to create the theme of that year’s book. “It is hours and hours of figuring out what we want the book to look like, what we want the theme to be, and more,” Makonnen said. Once they have their theme, the real work starts. The staff then takes their next steps to incorporate that theme throughout the entire yearbook. “Each page has a different theme based on the main theme. Our theme this year is ‘Next is Now,’ so each page then has a phrase that is associated with that,” Ahmed said. 

To complete the production of the yearbook, a production company takes care of the printing and manufacturing of the physical yearbook. A contract worth $50-70,000 dollars is in place to create high quality yearbooks that last for a long time. 

As second year staffers, Ahmed and Makonnen were selected as co-Editor-in-Chiefs (along with two others) to lead the 2023 yearbook staff. “An Editor-in-Chief basically makes all the layouts for the spreads,” Ahmed said. “We design all of the pages in the book and figure out what each topic is going to be about. In that time, we find who we need to interview for each topic and who we want to feature on each page.” 

Following their selection as a Pacemaker finalist, the Editor-in-Chief team has big goals for the upcoming year. “One of our main goals for this year’s yearbook is to find a staff that is actually dedicated to the book and wants to continue on after this year. That way, we have people who know how to already work on the book and who know what it takes to make a great yearbook. Our main goal is to create a community again after COVID,” Ahmed said. 

Makonnen agrees with her co-editor. “Next year I am going to be returning, so having people who want to be here and actually want to work on the yearbook is something that I really want,” Makonnen said. “I feel like this year we have a solid group of kids, and I think next year we have a few incoming students who will be solid as well. Regardless, I am excited to see where it goes.” 

For the upcoming year, Michelle Menna, the yearbook advisor, looks forward to further developing her young staff and making a book that the students of Rock Ridge will enjoy. “We want the students to love the book when it comes out in May and enjoy it for many years,” Menna said. Her role in developing the yearbook is to look over and edit and assist the editors and staff’s work. Focusing her efforts on managing senior ads and many of the reference pages, like club pictures and sports team portraits, allows the staff to focus on the content spreads.

“This is the third time that we have been a Pacemaker finalist,” Menna said, reflecting on past accomplishments. “The 2020, 2021 and 2022 books were all Pacemaker finalists. I don’t think most people realize what an accomplishment it is, and how amazing it is to have such an award-winning publication. We are extremely proud of our work, and hope that the school enjoys their yearbooks.”

 Students can buy their yearbooks using this purchase link, and can learn more information here. If they prefer, they can also print out the order form and turn it into room L405 with a check made out to Rock Ridge High School.