By Abby Williams,
Arrow newspaper editor-in-chief.

Utica High’s Warrior yearbook staff has done it again.

Although their 2021-2022 staff was the smallest in the school’s history, their yearbook earned a Spartan Award from the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association, ranking it as one of the best publications in the state.

“Thank you for sharing your book with me,” judge Kristi Rathbun said in her evaluation “It looks fun to be at Utica; it looks like students are learning and competing and involved in a community with strong traditions and pride. I can’t believe you all were able to complete such a strong book--with tons of stories, quotes that give student voice, photos that show the fun and the serious--with a staff of 13.”

Having a small staff was not the only challenge the yearbook staff faced, as many students were quarantined due to COVID.

“The most challenging part of editing last year’s book was how small our staff was and the fact that COVID had multiple people in our class, and people we needed to interview, gone for long periods of time,” photographer and managing editor Natalie Garwood said. “There was a period of time when both the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and the editor-in-chief of the yearbook were gone at the same time. Many editors spent hours at home working into the night to try and finish other people’s pages or take on more work than originally assigned. We honestly couldn’t have done it without those people willing to put in the hours outside of school to put together a book that many will keep looking back on for years to come.”

Despite the obstacles, the editors were ecstatic to find out their work was rewarded with a Spartan.

“I remember waiting for the results to come back in and it was nerve-wracking,” 2023 editor-in-chief Savannah Ruiz said. “We always do very well when it comes to Spartan Awards so I can’t say that I didn’t expect it, but knowing that anything could happen is what made me nervous. When the results came back, it was almost like a giant weight was released from my shoulders. I was so excited knowing that something that we made with such a small staff got the highest award, and that we made something that obviously stood out to the judges.”

Business manager Nick Milicaj learned about the award when other yearbook members told him.

“I was pretty shocked, but realized it was well-deserved,” Milicaj said. “Our team worked very hard and bonded throughout the journey of making the yearbook. I was happy that we won this great accolade.”

Students were excited to know their yearbook, which was well-received by the community, was also recognized at the state level.

“I discovered that the 2022 Warrior received a spartan award when I was tagged in a post on our yearbooks Instagram, congratulating us and announcing we had won,” sports editor Daniela Cesario said. “I remembered all the hard work we put in the previous year, the long nights working on unfinished pages, and missing other classes just to stay later and write one more caption or design one more page.”

The theme for the 2022 Warrior yearbook was “My Tribe,” and featured original Chieftain artwork by teacher Jennifer Allore, which was burnished into the cover.

“Cover does a great job introducing theme conceptually, verbally and visually; the image sets the tone of unity and tradition well,” Rathbun said. “The tactile elements are a huge piece, too. I love that the image of the Chieftain is hand-drawn by one of your faculty members, too--truly making it specific to you all.”

The theme was developed by 2022 editor-in-chief Marissa Barch.

“I chose the theme based off of many different aspects,” Barch said. “I went to a workshop over the summer, and asked myself, ‘What could I do that kids from Utica High would understand?’ That’s when it hit me: I wanted to create a book based on our mascot, the Chieftains. However, I didn’t want it to be that simple; I wanted a more meaningful message, so I decided on ‘My Tribe.” This theme is meaningful to Chieftains, and others outside of our community may not understand just how much our tribes mean to us. We call the student section The Tribe, but if you look around, everyone is part of their own little tribes such as sports, clubs and other organizations. I hope everyone loves the theme as much as I do.”

The judge acknowledged Barch’s theme development work when the 2022 Warrior also earned a commendation for excellence in Unifying Concept.

“Your theme is spot-on for your school, this year, and for all the traditions your community reveres,” Rathbun said. “Photos, coverage topics and design all come back to theme. It’s simple, classic, traditional and powerful.”

“My Tribe” was divided into traditional sections that highlighted Chieftain life.

“My favorite part of the book was definitely how the designs flowed around the pictures taken,” Ruiz said. “We have a wonderful, talented, award-winning student photographer who took some awesome photos, and a page designer who knew how to make easy-to-read and fun looking spreads.”

The judge agreed that student photography stood out from other yearbooks.

“The judging statement that stood out to me the most was the photography statement because that was where a lot of my work was devoted,” Garwood said. “I appreciated getting to know what I did well and what I could improve on for this year in order to receive a higher score. I take great pride in my photography, so it means a lot to me when other people get to enjoy it as well. We scored a 180 out of 200, which I was insanely proud of.”

Cesario’s favorite part of the book was the final page, which highlighted the track team, huddled with the sun setting behind them, because it was the “perfect picture to end the book.” The judge acknowledged small details like this, as well.

“The judge statement that stood out to me the most was one written about my Girls Cross Country headline, ‘Eat Pasta Run Fasta,” Cesarios said. “The judge wrote that it was a ‘nice use of a pun to grab readers attention.’ Being a part of the team, I feel I had an advantage when it came to designing. I believe it is crucial for not only editors, but everyone involved in creating the yearbook, to have personal relationships with as many students as possible. When you have a personal connection with the kids in your high school, it not only makes interviewing more comfortable, but it gives the reader better insight to the captions and stories that they are reading.”

The editors and staff are utilizing the critique and award as a springboard to create another award-winning book.

“My plan when at MIPA camp this summer was to really base the book on individuals, instead of being in groups. I loved the concept last year, but from following the COVID statistics for so long, it really made it seem like students were a bunch of numbers or groups of the same people, since we all had that time where we all where stuck at home,” Ruiz said. “I wanted a book where COVID was in the past (though still around), where we can move on to a new chapter to finally have a ‘normal’ book. It can allow students to talk freely about who they really are, and what they do that makes them who they are. We are trying to have a moment for more students to stand out, giving them a better sense of being included in the book.”

More important that publishing another award-winning book, editors want to create a meaningful book for students.

“Along with being able to capture every influential moment of the year, inside or outside of school. I want former students be able to look back at the pages in 20 years and say, ‘Oh, I remember that.’ That is how I’d know I created a good yearbook,” Cesario said. “Being on the staff is not simply just a third hour class put in my schedule that I have to attend, or typing out made-up words on a computer screen; it is a life-long book that will hold memories for the future. I think people underestimate the true power the yearbook holds.”

“I chose the theme based off of many different aspects,” Barch said. “I went to a workshop over the summer, and asked myself, ‘What could I do that kids from Utica High would understand?’ That’s when it hit me: I wanted to create a book based on our mascot, the Chieftains. However, I didn’t want it to be that simple; I wanted a more meaningful message, so I decided on ‘My Tribe.” This theme is meaningful to Chieftains, and others outside of our community may not understand just how much our tribes mean to us. We call the student section The Tribe, but if you look around, everyone is part of their own little tribes such as sports, clubs and other organizations. I hope everyone loves the theme as much as I do.”

The judge acknowledged Barch’s theme development work when the 2022 Warrior also earned a commendation for excellence in Unifying Concept.

“Your theme is spot-on for your school, this year, and for all the traditions your community reveres,” Rathbun said. “Photos, coverage topics and design all come back to theme. It’s simple, classic, traditional and powerful.”

“My Tribe” was divided into traditional sections that highlighted Chieftain life.

“My favorite part of the book was definitely how the designs flowed around the pictures taken,” Ruiz said. “We have a wonderful, talented, award-winning student photographer who took some awesome photos, and a page designer who knew how to make easy-to-read and fun looking spreads.”

The judge agreed that student photography stood out from other yearbooks.

“The judging statement that stood out to me the most was the photography statement because that was where a lot of my work was devoted,” Garwood said. “I appreciated getting to know what I did well and what I could improve on for this year in order to receive a higher score. I take great pride in my photography, so it means a lot to me when other people get to enjoy it as well. We scored a 180 out of 200, which I was insanely proud of.”

Cesario’s favorite part of the book was the final page, which highlighted the track team, huddled with the sun setting behind them, because it was the “perfect picture to end the book.” The judge acknowledged small details like this, as well.

“The judge statement that stood out to me the most was one written about my Girls Cross Country headline, ‘Eat Pasta Run Fasta,” Cesario said. “The judge wrote that it was a ‘nice use of a pun to grab readers attention.’ Being a part of the team, I feel I had an advantage when it came to designing. I believe it is crucial for not only editors, but everyone involved in creating the yearbook, to have personal relationships with as many students as possible. When you have a personal connection with the kids in your high school, it not only makes interviewing more comfortable, but it gives the reader better insight to the captions and stories that they are reading.”

The editors and staff are utilizing the critique and award as a springboard to create another award-winning book.

“My plan when at MIPA camp this summer was to really base the book on individuals, instead of being in groups. I loved the concept last year, but from following the COVID statistics for so long, it really made it seem like students were a bunch of numbers or groups of the same people, since we all had that time where we all where stuck at home,” Ruiz said. “I wanted a book where COVID was in the past (though still around), where we can move on to a new chapter to finally have a ‘normal’ book. It can allow students to talk freely about who they really are, and what they do that makes them who they are. We are trying to have a moment for more students to stand out, giving them a better sense of being included in the book.”

More important that publishing another award-winning book, editors want to create a meaningful book for students.
“I believe that the students will enjoy the photography most this year. I can just see the excitement when I walk up to the student section with my camera or when students see themselves posted on our Photo of the Day series on our Instagram (@uhswarrior),” Garwood said. “Every morning I post a photo on our Instagram to promote the book and I’ve received a lot of compliments on the photos. When people think of yearbooks, they often think of the photos and I feel honored to be the one to be able to give them that first impression of the book and to be able to unlock memories they may have forgotten.”

Cesario believes her job is more important that creating a book.

“Along with being able to capture every influential moment of the year, inside or outside of school. I want former students be able to look back at the pages in 20 years and say, ‘Oh, I remember that.’ That is how I’d know I created a good yearbook,” Cesario said. “Being on the staff is not simply just a third hour class put in my schedule that I have to attend, or typing out made-up words on a computer screen; it is a life-long book that will hold memories for the future. I think people underestimate the true power the yearbook holds.”

Photo Credit - In the Utica High news lab, editors Natalie Garwood and Savannah Ruiz edit yearbook pages before sending them out for publication.