Yearbook Chat with Jim: Courtney Hanks and staff face their first big deadline

Back in October, Yearbook Chat with Jim featured Courtney Hanks, the adviser at University High School in Orange City, Florida, as an Adviser of Note. Since that interview, Hanks and her staff have continued to win awards, and were even featured in a story by the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

In this special bonus episode, podcast host Jim Jordan follows up with Hanks and her staff. They are joined by editors-in-chief Emily Edwards and Jonathan Jackson; managing editors Jordan McKendrick, Joey Arquette and Brook Williams; index editor Morgan Costner and photo editor Grace Rooney. These students joined yearbook for a variety of reasons – a friend recruited, they thought it looked fun or because it was the only open elective. Now, they’ve each grown to become a leader among the Odyssey staff.

Recorded just days before their first big deadline, Hanks and her staff discussed their journey to figuring out this year’s yearbook, and what they’re planning next.

What’s happening now

In this update episode, Jordan followed up with Hanks and her students to discuss their staff structure and what works for them. The EICs shared the workflows, and the editors chatted about how they keep their fellow staff members from burning out.

They discussed the struggle to find this year’s theme and how they knew when it was time to let a favorite theme idea go because it wasn’t working. They also delve into how they stay organized and keep the staff on task.

Deadline

Recorded with their first big deadline still looming, the student leaders reflected on how it’s going so far. EIC Edwards shared what she’s doing differently now that she’s in her current role, as opposed to the managing editor role she held last year. EIC Jackson also discussed how he “takes a step back” to let his managing editors do their jobs.

Catch up

If you missed the original interview with Courtney Hanks, you can find her Adviser of Note article on the blog, which includes a link to the accompanying podcast episode.

Stay tuned throughout the year – Jordan will check back in with Hanks and her staff as their 2019 yearbook progresses.