News Brief
Jack Zhang
Trillium Yearbook made history last month as they earned top honors in both the Columbia Scholastic
Press Association and the National Scholastic Press Association. The 2013 yearbook titled “We Make It
Work,” a humor-based theme centered on how students juggle the various aspects of their daily lives and
was a testament to how students battled unexpected setbacks.
At Colombia, the judges gave Trumbull a total of 960 out of 1000 points, placing upon Trumbull the
“Gold Medal” distinction, an honor that has only been bestowed once previously with the social
media based theme of 2012 #ths. Within their remarks they commented, “It was a pleasure to see an
outstanding publication… that captured many of the activities, emotions, personalities, etc. that go on a
daily basis.”
Within the NSPA critiques were even more outstanding. Trumbull’s yearbook was able to earn the honor
of “All American Honors” which denotes a book of exemplary characteristics, one that earned distinctions
in all five categories of coverage, content, design, writing, and photography. Overall, the book earned
4,410 out of 4,700 points. This marks the first time that a book produced by Trumbull has earned this
honor. Within their commentary, the judges exclaimed, “[Trillium] could write a book on how to create
award-winning yearbooks … congratulations for one of the best books [we’ve] seen.
The students and staff from this year have been extremely proud of this accomplishment. According
to the benevolent student life section leader Margaret Wingo, “Creating We Make It Work last year
was such a great experience. We all put so much effort into it which made it feel so much better when
we won the Columbia Gold Medal and NSPA All American Honors awards. I remember being so happy
when I read the posts Mr. Miller sent into our Facebook group telling us about these awards and
congratulating us on all of our hard work. It shows that hard work pays off. That feeling after winning
such high awards cannot be replaced”
When Mr. Guarino walked in the most recent yearbook deadline at the end of January, he witnessed
what it was like first hand: wild music playing, Chinese food stacked on the table, and editors furiously
multitasking, hoping to get home before 11:00. It was here where advisor Jordan Miller presented
Mr. Guarino with the plaque from NSPA, a distinction soon to be hung up along the rest of Trumbull’s
distinctions in the trophy cases.
Current Senior section leader Shannon Boyd comments on the experience, “Being a Trillium editor can be
a lot of work sometimes but it can also be very rewarding. It feels good knowing that all of the time and
effort we put into creating an awesome book is recognized and rewarded. Winning high honors is just
another reminder of what hard work and dedication can accomplish.”
The theme accurately depicted a crazy year filled with transition, tough battles, and finding the spark
within the hecticness of everyday life.
According to Advisor Mr. Jordan Miller, said “We almost didn’t make it on time due to various setbacks
such as the hurricane and multiple snow storms, but I can honestly say this was one of the best books we
have produced it to date. We made it. We made it work.”