Yearbook plans to take students on an exciting ride through the school year with the 2023-24 edition of the book, the theme of which is “Our Journey”.
The book will focus on the individual journeys of Socastee students along with the school’s journey as a whole.
Yearbook and Journalism teacher Ms. Susan O’Brien calls the yearbook a “metaphor for all students’ experience during high school on the way to graduation.”
The yearbook staff has worked diligently to capture the paths of students as they traverse through the winding road that is high school. They have sent 250 pages off to print, and have 50 more to go by April 1, which is when all pages are due.
This year has been different from last year production-wise due to a bigger staff. A few experienced members graduated in 2023, but three returned as editors and 27 new students joined the staff between the two semesters.. A large group makes it easier to divide up interviewing, writing, picture-taking and designing tasks.
“Some staffers were really good photographers, while others were good at interviewing or thinking up story ideas,” Ms. O’Brien said. “No job is too small on yearbook, and sometimes the smallest seeming job is the most important.”
Yearbook also gained new technological assets this school year to aid the staff in their individual responsibilities. Improvements include new Macs and camera lenses with greater zoom abilities.
“It made it easier to take photos at sports games and to design spreads,” Yearbook Editor-in-Chief Eduardo Ajuech-Agreda (12) said.
This year, the design staffs’ main goal was to dive into the personal journeys of each student, he said, looking at how is each student unique and what occurs on “the roads less traveled” at Socastee. It can be difficult to get a closer look into students’ lives, but the staff asks a lot of followup questions to get students to open up.
“We asked more personal questions and we’ve gotten more personal stories from [students],” Eduardo said. “At first, I thought we were going to be getting the standard responses, but we’ve gotten more stories about people and their backgrounds.”
Yearbook Photo Editor Jaliah Carvalho (12) is also excited for students to see the theme.
“I feel as if the yearbook helps to show the individuality of some students and provides them an opportunity to share interesting things about themselves,” she said.
Yearbooks will be coming out at the end of May and staff is just as — if not more — excited for the premiere as students.
“I’m most looking forward to seeing people’s reactions when they get to see themselves and their friends pictured in the yearbook,” Jaliah said.
Each year’s yearbook is unique. Students are encouraged to purchase one for each year of high school because it commemorates their journey in each exclusive school year.
“We have some really good photos and stories that I hope together really captured what happened this year,” Mrs. O’Brien said. “Hopefully, it’ll be a book people will appreciate not only when they first see it, but also 10, 20 or 30 years from now.”
This year’s edition is selling fast, so students should order soon, Ms. O’Brien said. They can be purchased for $90 at yearbookordercenter.com with our school code 21370, or by bringing cash or check to Ms. O’Brien in Room 216.
