Avianna's Portfolio December 2018

Avianna’s Portfolio December 2018

Self Analytical Evaluation To say that I have grown this semester is definitely an understatement. I expected to grow this semester just like I have been growing since the first day I stepped foot in this classroom.

But my growth this year is more than just an improvement of my writing skills or going out of my comfort zone to interview people. I have grown to learn leadership skills and dedication, as well as patience and actually putting in the extra effort instead of just doing the bare minimum.

I am still learning the challenges of leadership. Telling people what to do isn’t the problem, but how I tell them is. Last year I felt like there was a divide between the editors and the staff writers. Although they were nice and willing to help, I still found it intimidating to talk to them.

As an editor this year, I have tried to be more open minded, willing to help, and I have actually tried to listen to what they’re saying. Undoubtedly, the biggest thing I have learned this year regarding leadership, is accepting the fact that not everyone is going to get their work done.

I have realized that there are a few people who will not do their work no matter what. For better or worse, those people are not going to change and I need to work around them, instead of forcing them to do something that still won’t get done. I know, as an editor I still I still have a long way to go as there are many things I need to improve, such as communicating and editing articles several times instead of just once or twice.

As far as actual production skills go, I have learned so much this semester. InDesign is a whole other part of this class, that at times has definitely tried my patience. When I was forced to use InDesign for the first time, I thought it was hard and confusing. I still find it confusing, but I have learned how to navigate it. Coming into the year as an editor, I was most concerned with learning how to use it. And although there are still so many things I don’t know how to do, I feel that my skills have improved.

I have learned more about the importance of deadlines in this one semester alone than I have in my two and a half years of high school combined. Last year, if I didn’t get an article done on time, the editor wouldn’t have my one article and I would get an F, but that was it. This year however, I can’t just not do my work. If I don’t get my work done then there is no sports page. That’s not just a problem that someone else has to deal with, I’m the one that has to deal it. I can’t put my work on anyone else. If I don’t meet deadlines, it affects everyone else too.

Honestly, I don’t think I have learned much more about ethics this year. Ethics are something that I have understood from day one, not just in this class but in school in general. I don’t think there is much more I could have learned this semester that I didn’t already understand last year.

If there is one thing that has grown this semester, it is my dedication to the paper. This semester I stopped seeing this as a class, but rather a project. Last year, I thought that being an editor automatically meant you were an asset to the staff - which you are, but there’s good assets and bad assets. Although I sometimes fall short, I have tried to be a good asset. One moment of my dedication was when I spent two hours drawing the picture of Taylor Lewan in the November Issue.

I have struggle with patience and communication this semester, but I feel that both are improving. I don’t know why but I feel that early on I struggle with communicating to the photographers specifically, but I think I have overcome that. My greatest weakness is doing more than the bare minimum. I am trying to overcome that, but unfortunately, old habits die hard. Last year as a writer I could get away with that, but as an editor I am learning that the bare minimum is not enough.

I have grown and learned so much this semester and i am excited to see what next semester holds.

Reflection One My most significant piece of work this semester are my pages for the September issue. I know that the most “significant” piece is supposed to mean the “best” piece, but that’s just not the case. Even though they definitely my worst pages so far, I still think they are the most significant because of the work that went into them. They were my first pages and I had no idea what I was doing. I learned so much about editing and how to use InDesign during the first issue.

There is no question that they were my worst pages due to the whole “missing i’s” situation and my huge mistake (s=etting). There are probably other things that aren’t done as well because I didn’t know how to do them. This was extremely difficult to complete because I had very little experience with InDesign prior to this.

This piece of work evolved so much. I redesigned the page so many times, and after finally laying it all out the way I wanted it, Adamson went in redesigned it all over again (thank god for his help).

Although I can’t say that I think the finished product was good, I am still extremely proud of it and proud of myself for learning how to do this. It was definitely rough at first, but I think I have the hang of it now (at least I hope I do). Despite being my worst piece of work, I still find it the most significant because of everything I learned and overcoming the challenges of learning how to use InDesign.

The first piece of work that I am proud of is the Taylor Lewan drawing in the November issue. I am proud of this because it was my first time doing a drawing and I think it turned out good. I went out of my comfort zone and did something new. Even though it took me a couple hours, I oddly enjoyed doing it.

Another piece I am proud of is the opinion article I wrote in the October issue. It was about whether or not championship teams should be required to visit the White House. It was about something that I am interested in so it was fun to write and I am proud of the final product.

I love the volleyball photo I took for the September issue. I really enjoy taking photos (I want to take more) and I think the photo turned out really good. It was easy for me to do it because I was on the team. I took a lot of volleyball photos and some of the other good ones also got used in the photo essay.

Reflection 2

Tear Sheets

September - sports page 17

December - opinion page 7

September - photo essay - page 20

December - news page 3

September life - page 12

December - health page 5

October - opinion page 5

November - sports page 23

Septemberopinion - page 6

Tear Sheets

Designs

September

October

November

December