Proteus Monthly

PROTEUS EDITORS CREATE ROBUST LITERARY AND VISUAL ARTS WEBSITE

roteus, the literary and visual arts magazine of St. Stephen’s, has featured the work of Spartan artists and writers for decades. Yet, producing the print publication has had its challenges. Page limits and budget constraints meant that not all outstanding pieces could be included in the journal, and the submission process could be cumbersome for the faculty sponsor. Now, thanks to the great initiative of student editors Fer Hurtado and Sofia Messer, both members of the Class of 2021, students can submit their works and have them showcased online via the new Proteus Monthly website. “Before Proteus Monthly, all publication content had to be directly emailed to Dr. Huth for submission,” Messer said of faculty sponsor Jenny Huth, Ph.D. “We wanted to create a platform that would streamline the submission process and display every single artwork and writing piece so no one got left out. This, in turn, incentivized more students to submit their work without the fear of rejection.” “The process of creating the site was quite easy, as we used a website builder called Wix to assist us in the process,” Messer said. “This allowed us to focus our efforts on making the site as user-friendly as possible while adding our own creative touches to the interface.” “Sofia and I created the website to exhibit all of the art and writing submitted to the publication and not leave anything—or anyone— out,” Hurtado said. “The website also includes a database that makes it easier for the editors and Dr. Huth to select the pieces that will go in the journal. Plus, we can now display all the art and writing submitted to the publication, but that don’t necessarily make it in.” According to Messer, the idea for Proteus Monthly sprang from the two editors’ desire to create a platform that is routinely updated with fresh content as students create and submit it. “Each month we add new art and writing to the website to reflect the creativity constantly blooming on campus,” Messer said. “In this way, Proteus Monthly serves as a less formal, ‘living’ companion to our end-of-year print publication.” “It’s a companion to the printed booklet because it's a digital extension of the journal,” Hurtado added.

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Huth was thrilled with the site they produced, as well as its many benefits. She was also extremely impressed with their determination to make the entire process better for everyone.

“They are true pioneers,” Huth said of the two editors. “No one assigned them to do this; the desire and work came from them. They were enthusiastic to grow the journal into something more engaging: an evolving collection of student art and writing. The new online Proteus Monthly means students are just a couple clicks away from checking out their peers’ most recent art and writing at any time.”

To ensure the new site met a range of needs, Hurtado and Messer surveyed users for improvements they wanted to see. “After consulting with teachers and students on their experiences submitting art and writing, we already have made some changes to our website,” Messer said. “For example, at first we only accepted PDF files of literary works. However, this proved to be time-consuming in the editing process, as we had to download and send each piece to our publishers. Instead, we decided to use Google Docs for submissions. This made the process much easier for both the Proteus team and students.

“We also heard from a couple of art students that they preferred their pieces be grouped together on the website, rather than displayed separately,” Messer continued. “After hearing this, Fer and I decided to experiment with different ways of displaying the content on the site.”

“We have gotten a lot more submissions through the website than we received in previous years, because it's easier to access and nice to look at,” Hurtado said. “Also, we have asked all writing and visual arts teachers to ask their students to submit through the website. I think that has really made a huge difference in the number of submissions.” Hurtado, whose favorite subject in English, said she has heard from creative writing students that they have enjoyed reading their classmates’ works on the new site. She also values the positive feedback she has received from her English teachers. “I think English has always been my favorite class because my teachers have made me feel that my voice and opinions are appreciated and special,” she said. “The discussions we have in class are always the highlights of my days.

“My passion for English inspired me to help create Proteus Monthly because I really wanted to display and appreciate different perspectives in writing from each unique writer who is willing to share their work with us,” she added.

Hurtado, who enrolled at St. Stephen’s as a 9th grader, chose the school because of the strong academic programming and inviting campus environment. “My parents pushed me to enroll at St. Stephen's because they wanted me to pursue better options for my education,” noted Hurtado, a boarding student from Mexico. “St. Stephen's has opened so many doors for me that my home country could not have offered. I can say that I do not regret my decision to come here because without St. Stephen's I would have not accomplished what I have today.”

Her co-editor, Messer, a day student from Austin, said she feels the same. “I came to St. Stephen’s in the 7th grade after hearing about the academic opportunities the school has,” she noted. “However, I did not fully anticipate the quality of education I have received—not just from my teachers in core classes, but in class discussions, fine arts seminars, club meetings and conversations with my peers. St. Stephen’s has taught me to seek knowledge not just inside the classroom, but in every moment possible.”

Messer calls the school’s fine arts department her second home. “I have played the cello in the orchestra and taken art classes every year,” she said. “Art is an outlet for me to express myself and allowed me to converse with other artistically minded students. I believe this experience gave me first-hand knowledge of the department and exposed me to the many talented artists in our community, which inspired me to create Proteus Monthly.”

When they graduated in May, the two editors left St. Stephen’s knowing they made a significant mark on the school and student-run publication they both love. “They have ushered our beloved journal into the 21st century,” Huth concluded. “Their work has allowed us to showcase Spartan art and writing even more powerfully than ever before.”

For a first-hand view of the school’s new literary and visual arts site, please visit Proteus Monthly at https://spartanswixsite.wixsite.com/ proteus.

PHOTOS OPPOSITE PAGE: Fer Hurtado (left) and Sofia Messer

BEAUTY

Beyond Adversity

Following a night of freezing rain on Feb. 11, millions of Texas residents and the St. Stephen’s campus suffered more than a week of record low temperatures and historic accumulated losses of essential utilities, including access to medical care, electricity, heat, water, food and transportation. Even after the arctic chills subsided and temperatures rose, it took another week for stores to restock and life to return to “normal” amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Damage and recovery costs from the unprecedented winter storm surpassed that of any other disaster in state history, exceeding more than an estimated $125 billion.

We hope enough time has passed since "Snowpocalypse 2021" that our readers can appreciate the beauty and youthful wonder that our resilient Spartan community was able to find amid the chaos. Please enjoy this rare glimpse into an unusual moment in our school’s history and student life.