As the school year wraps up the senior editors for the Lambert yearbook look back at the hard work they have put in, including Senior Editor Jemma Schiffer. Schiffer has been on the Lambert yearbook since freshman year and has worked her way up from working on pages in South Forsyth Middle School (South Middle) to finalizing the whole book at Lambert. Schiffer joined the yearbook staff at South Middle in 8th grade and decided to fill out a high school yearbook staff application at the end of the year. Though Schiffer didn’t know much about the way that the yearbook is run in high school, she still decided to take the leap and sign up.
Schiffer didn’t know much about the way that a yearbook runs in a high school, but still decided to take the leap and sign up.
“It was really different in high school in the way you do spreads and designs, so it took me a minute to get into the groove of everything,” Schiffer explained. “Quickly Mrs. Smoot realized I was good at it and she could trust me.”
During her sophomore year, Schiffer quickly moved up from a normal staff member to being able to review pages, which usually a senior or junior would be doing. Schiffer, as an underclassman, was very excited to be in charge of such a big task.
“She used to have me review Blue Reviews more than other people, which means I was checking over to make sure there were no mistakes on the pages,” Schiffer stated. “I was basically just reviewing their spreads to make sure they are up to par.”
Schiffer is both a leader in the yearbook class while also in different aspects of the school. As a senior, Schiffer has had to manage being a Senior Editor on the yearbook, as well as being a Student Council officer. Being a senior editor is a big ask because of the amount of work required for the position.
“The editors create the templates, create the cover and create the theme, and the staff take the templates, put in photos, collect interviews and write,” Schiffer said.
The staffs’ hard work and the editors’ fine tuning is what leads to the yearbook being perfected each year. This work starts in early August and continues all the way through the year. With this time comes trails and tribulation for the staff and many lessons are learned. As the Senior Editors bid farewell, they hope that they can leave their knowledge and advice that they have learned over the years with the people they are saying goodbye to.
“I would say you should find your friend versus leader balance within the class,” Schiffer explained. “Its hard to tell your peers what to do, especially when they are your friends, so finding that balance is really important and making sure that you are relying on the people around you.”
As the school year wraps up, excitement starts to build up to see the annual yearbook publication. Looking back as part of the yearbook staff, Schiffer takes pride in the hard work she has put in. As Schiffer embarks on her new journey, she is excited to see how she can implement the lessons and work ethics that she has learned through being in the Lambert yearbook.
