Yearbook Class Preps Latest Edition of Epilog

Each student in the class has a role and a section of the book they are responsible for. *Photo: Yearbook Class*

By VANESSA FENG WU, SILVIA FENG, and GISELLE TOLENTINO

The graduation music plays as stirring memories from the class of 2024 flow through the air during the final push of the last few months. Luckily, the Yearbook class has been working diligently all year-long to preserve these memories forever.

The process begins at the end of junior year, when rising seniors submit applications to join Yearbook, which is a full year English class devoted to creating a new edition of Midwood’s Epilog.

Sophie Gurevich, who worked on the activity spread, was inspired by the seniors she knew on last year’s staff. Like them, “I wanted my input on the yearbook for my graduating class,” she said.

Nicole Liu, a sports editor, said, “I was really excited to join. I did it back in middle school and I knew it was something I wanted to do again in high school.”

The class started by choosing a theme, which was one of the biggest challenges of the year. Small groups brainstormed ideas, and the class took a vote.

“Choosing the theme was difficult because we wanted to pick something that we thought would be aesthetically pleasing but that also encapsulated the class of 2024,” said Liu.

The winning theme was to design the yearbook as an old-fashioned museum.

Putting together 200 pages is a long, sometimes overwhelming process, but one that can also be rewarding.

“There is a lot of laughter and frustration sometimes with the spreads, but we had a lot of fun,” said Karen Kong, the section editor.

“Trying to gather all the information about the class of 2024 was always going to be intense,” said Mr. Lawrence Kolotkin, who was in his first year running the yearbook. “You work and you learn. But the seniors were clever, impressive, and very much an inspiration.”

Learning new skills was one of the most valuable parts of the class, students said.

Kong said her graphic design skills grew across the course of the year as she created spreads and took on other design tasks. Humayrah Hossain, the staff editor, said that the class helped her learn how to “think outside of the box.”

The milestones seemed endless, but eventually the class was ready for the biggest one yet: submitting the final product.

Nohelia Galarza, an editor-in-chief, said, “There was excitement and nervousness because this is something that everyone will see and something that will live on through the Midwood archives.”

“It’s like fireworks on the SMARTBoard when we click ‘submit’ as a class,” said Sharmin Jahan, an editor-in-chief. “That is a very special moment.”

Rachelle Zaltsman, the section editor for faculty photos, said she felt “excitement, shock, and disbelief,” adding, “Now that we finished the whole thing, we are one step closer to graduating and we were able to create something so beautiful for the class of 2024.”

Waiting for the yearbook to arrive represents one more step closer to walking the stage for graduation.

“I hope seniors treasure the result and the most important part, which is the memories,” said Daria Temir, a senior contributor to the activity spread. “One of my favorite parts of senior year was having the opportunity to be a part of the yearbook team and work with all the amazing members to create a book that will be cherished by the class of 2024 for years. I truly gained a second family and I am so sad that it’s coming to a close.”