As of May 1, 2024, Steinbrenner Yearbook released their award winning 2023-2024 edition of The Odessey. With over 800 hours spent on this masterpiece the staff won five All Florida awards. All Florida is the most prestigious award you can receive from Florida Scholastic Press Association (FSPA). With 27 awards in total this yearbook staff has created a priceless book that every student can appreciate. Let’s walkthrough a couple of the members experiences creating the book.
Junior Jayda Thybulle describes her experience with yearbook as rewarding and unforgettable. “I am currently a staff member and cannot wait to be a design editor next year as it’s my favorite aspect of the process.”
While she rated the stress 8/10 and weighted the workload the same as an AP class, she thoroughly enjoyed designing the different layouts for the pages.
“Each page takes about 1-2 hours to perfect,” said Thybulle.
No wonder why the book has won so many awards! With each page curated with accurate information about Steinbrenner students and staff, the 400 pages are an impressive feat.
Thybulle does add that she is excited for next year with her new position and being a senior, she will have a slightly less workload and a theme already picked out. “Although I don’t plan on majoring in journalism, I am still undecided on what I want to do. I’d love to still keep it as an extracurricular in college.”
Thybulle is just one of the many members that create this wonderful memory book for Steinbrenner families!
Editor in Chief, Hannah Chen, explains that she has spent 884 tedious hours perfecting and crafting the newest edition to the Steinbrenner Yearbook. She states that her favorite part of being included in the publication’s team is attending sports games and photographing events, as it has created the most memorable experiences and is her true passion.
Chen has been honored several times within the FSPA realm and says, “I appreciate the opportunity to have been awarded such high praise and I plan on creating an even better edition next year for my senior year.”
She anticipates revealing the newest theme, but Steinbrenner students will have to wait just a few more months until the details are exposed.
Senior, Tammy Budiman has been a part of yearbook since her sophomore year of high school. With this being her third book she had worked on, this year’s has become one of her favorites.
“It’s my last year yearbook and it’s really sentimental. I think the theme turned out so good, and I have loved seeing everyone’s reaction to getting to see the final product,” said Budiman.
Being a part of the yearbook staff has brought so many opportunities throughout her high school career.
“I have made so many close friendships, got to go on really fun field trips, and got to participate in and win journalism competitions,” said Budiman.
However, the yearbook process can be extremely stressful, especially since Budiman has a bigger role of being copy editor. She revises and corrects all the grammar and writing throughout the yearbook pages.
“It is a lot of work having to read through every single page and layout, and I felt a lot of pressure because people will be able to see if there are any typos,” said Budiman. Budiman has loved her time being part of the yearbook, and while she is sad to be leaving, she is so proud of her classmates and how the yearbook turned out.
This year’s yearbook has had many blood, sweat, and tears put into it, but the result is 100 percent worth it!
