Summer is supposed to be three months of relaxing and taking a break from school. It marks the end of another long school year. But for one small group of Thunderbirds, summer is the time buckle down and get ready for the coming fall.  

In late June, several members of the 2019-2020 journalism staff went to Golden, Colorado, for the 5280 Journalism Workshop, where they put together their ideas for the yearbook. The three-day conference entailed day–long workshops and meetings with the publisher representatives, artists, and their staff. 

The EHS group represented both returning members and new members, each with a little different set of expectations.  

 “Knowing that we were going to have a lot of newer students coming with us, I thought they wouldn’t contribute and would hold us back,” said junior Cristiona Morales. “Instead they put their ideas forward and really helped pull things together.”  

Morales attended the 2018 camp, so she knew what was going to happen. However, for the new members they had no clue. 

“I thought there were going to be way more arguments,” said junior Bailey Miller. “It was stressful, but I thought it was going to be more emotional.”  

Something that a lot of people don’t know is that journalism has its own competitions. From local workshops to national conventions, young journalists are always looking to out-write, out-design, or out-plan their competition. 

This year’s class was thrilled to earn a first–place finish in design and layout, the camp’s biggest honor, and the privilege of being called Yearbook Camp Champ. 

“At first it didn’t seem like we won because they messed up the whole result,” said Morales. “It was a Steve Harvey moment, but when they announced us, I was shocked. We had never won before and it felt like we really accomplished something.”