LEADERSHIP & EDITING.

Having been an assistant editor in 2017, to then being an Editor in Chief of two different yearbook publications from 2019-2020 and 2022-2024 I’ve learned the ins and out of what leadership means.

Ragan Stoltz -

Co Editor in Chief

Working alongside Tiffany as Editor in Chief has been amazing. She has this power to lead, organize, and still live life to the fullest. Sometimes she’s hosting tea parties to congratulate everyone on how hard they worked, and the next day she’s meeting some senator in a power suit and stilettos. Her leadership has been such an inspiration and something I draw on in everyday life, even outside of yearbook. It is my absolute honor to not only be her co-worker, but to also be her friend.”

“

Jane Schlemper -

Designer

"I actually don't know what i'd do without her because she help me see the bigger picture when it comes to designs and motivates me to be a better leader myself, When I was struggling with deadlines, she helped me realize that i needed to get my group under control and make sure everything got done."

“

Rylene Parris -

Writer

"Tiffany is just someone who's kind of like unreal, when you see how much time and effort she puts into doing what she does, I'm like how does she find the time, how does she find the energy. She's good at writing stories, quotes, captions, everything and it makes you realize how hard of a worker she is and why she's are editor in chief and at the same time it makes you realize how much energy she puts into making our jobs easier".

“

BUILDING A

New

PUBLICATION

After helping fill my junior high classroom 320 with certificates, plaques, and titles, making my publication the top 1% of yearbooks in the country, as well as for myself, being named Aspiring Young Journalist from the Journalism Education Association — I entered high school. Their yearbook program was in a nice way of putting it — a recreation of one of my grandmas photo albums. Journalism was nonexistent at my high school, but after COVID-19 had come and passed, I knew students at Apache Junction needed a way they could make their stories heard.

My junior high yearbook advisor agreed to come over to the high school, and throughout my junior year he helped me create a new yearbook publication, The Prospector. One that could rival my past nationally renowned junior high program.

The Prospector may only be two years old, but we have already become one of the most awarded staffs in Arizona for are 23-24 yearbook.

Building a new yearbook publication from the ground up was a formidable yet rewarding undertaking. From conceptualizing the design, to assembling a dedicated team, every step required planning and innovation. Navigating the complexities of a changing media landscape due to the pandemic, we adapted to new norms, incorporating virtual collaboration and creative solutions. The process was a testament to resilience, determination, and the passion to the unique stories of our school community. The journey of constructing this yearbook program became an unforgettable chapter in my career.

Working

BETWEEN

PROGRAMS

Part of starting The Prospector also encompassed continuing our national recognized publication, Oro, at Cactus Canyon Junior High. With my advisor teaching both publications, we helped form a program in which a student could be a journalist as young as 12 and continue all through high school by working on two different staffs. This working relationship between both schools provided valuable leadership opportunities as collaboration and guidance were essential. Coordinating tasks, facilitating teamwork, and overseeing the creative process of both books allowed for our staffers to build stronger connections as the littles (junior high students) and the bigs (high schoolers) watched each other grow.

For NSPA’s Innovation Pacemaker , we submitted the short video below that I made, which took a deep dive into how our two publications strive together. We have become a finalist for the Innovation Pacemaker and will learn of the winning results in April.

IT ALL STARTS WITH

TEAM

Building

I would be fibbing a bit if I said when the first time I was Editor in Chief of my junior High publication, everyone got along and we maximized our organization. I was lucky enough to be given a second chance to lead a new publication in high school, and with this new chance came new ideas.

I decided that this time around, I wanted to form a staff built on equal opportunity and kindness. I established the motto ‘Kind Words Only’ to encourage our staff to not only talk to others in a positive manner but to talk to themselves as such too.

LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP

As a leader, I also hold myself responsible for teaching my staff as much as I possibly can. Over the summer, I attended Walsworth’s Socal Workshops, where I learned the importance of building a strong leadership foundation within a staff from JEA Advisor of the Year Susan Massy. I wanted to bring that experience to The Prospector, so we instituted two weeks worth of ice breakers, personality quizzes, and I taught mini-lessons to the class based on what I’d learned during my trip to bond my staff together.

Celebrations

Celebrating milestones, no matter how small, has been great motivators for my staff. Whether it’s a birthday celebration, a book opening party, a purple party, or just a random Tuesday, no milestone should go without a cosmic brownie.

GRATITUDE BOARD

Continuing my mission goal of making the yearbook room a place of acceptance and positivity, I implemented the Gratitude Board, in which after every round of the 13 Day Plan my staff takes time to congratulate each other on their successes.

Work Nights

When hard deadlines are approaching, sometimes late work nights are required, but these have become amazing opportunities for my staff to not only collaborate but also give staffers time to meet their deadlines with assistance. These nights are not without heavy workloads but they also include snacks, games, and mini Taylor Swift concerts.

MAINTAINING FRIENDSHIPS

Working as editors in chief together can sometimes put a strain on our friendship; therefore, to establish a strong friendship but also a balanced working relationship, me and my co editor in chief, Ragan Stoltz, have monthly meetings where we grab coffee or pancakes and plan our next round of coverage.

Our First Trip Together

Our first trip with both schools was Walsworth Elite Weekend in Anaheim, California where before we sat in a conference room for three days straight to work on our yearbooks, both schools got to bond while in Disneyland.
Summer Bonding

Even during the summer, both schools did bonding actives like going to see the new Minions movie and grabbing ice cream together.
Weekly

Every week on Monday, the bigs would come over from the high school to mentor the littles on their book and give feedback while also doing bonding actives like “would you rather” and “heads up 7 up”.
Pancake Parties

Weather its through pancake parties or work camp breakfasts, we try to find small ways for both staffs to bond.
Holiday Celebrations

Each year both staffs join together to do giant Christmas gift exchanges to get to know one another.

Item 1 of 5

The

13

DAY PLAN

During the summer of 23’, I worked to package the 13 Day Plan to make it digestible for future editors. This package consisted of a calendar, work sheets for groups, lesson plans, mental health check-ups, assistance plans, and a step by step slideshow that explains how to incorporate the structure into a classroom. I have used this package to teach at the Arizona Interscholastic Press Association convention and will also use it to teach at the Spring NSPA/JEA convention in 2024.

Any journalist would be lying if they said deadlines doesn’t cause them stress. Having been an editor for 4 years, I have felt the pressure of deadlines and leading a stressed staff. After building a new publication from the ground up, I wanted to make sure my program was efficient but also a healthy environment.

The 13 Day Plan was inspired by the unhealthy levels of stress me and my staff were feeling. The idea for the plan was to break up larger deadlines into smaller, more manageable ones with checkups built in.

This implantation of this plan was tremendous in changing the working relationships between my staffers. Help was easier to find, communication strengthened, and work was being completed by deadline without last minute scrabbling.

Item 1 of 2

Group chat texts are similarly important to boost morale. Whenever possible, I will shout out a staffer for leadership, writing, coverage and/or any awards received. Sending encouraging texts motivates the team to keep up good work and allows editors to support their fellow teammates.

Staying

IN THE

KNOW

Producing a yearbook in which we promise a customer a snapshot of that year, staying up to date on all school events is critical to our publication. Whether it’s through our giant calendar found in the back of our classroom or daily texts from editors that update the staff on events, in yearbook we prioritize being the ‘know it alls’ of our school.

TEACHING

At

AIPA

At the Arizona Interscholastic Press Association convention on Oct. 24 I held three panels teaching the importance of staff organization, how to be innovated with design, and how students can help in passing a New Voices bill in Arizona. These teaching opportunities allowed me to share with other staffs the tricks and tips I’ve leaned from being a student journalist for 6 years and gave me the chance to talk with other staffs about leadership techniques they’ve incorporated in their publications.

NEW VOICES presentation

Slide 1
Slide 2
Slide 3
Slide 4
Slide 5
Slide 6
Slide 7
Slide 8
Slide 9
Slide 10
Slide 11
Slide 12
Slide 13
Slide 14
Slide 15
Slide 16
Slide 17
Slide 18
Slide 19
Slide 20

Item 1 of 20

THE 13 DAY PLAN

Slide 1
Slide 2
Slide 3
Slide 4
Slide 5
Slide 6
Slide 7
Slide 8
Slide 9
Slide 10
Slide 11

Item 1 of 11

HOW TO BE A GROUND-BREAKING DESIGNER

Slide 1
Slide 2
Slide 3
Slide 4
Slide 5
Slide 6
Slide 7
Slide 8
Slide 9
Slide 10
Slide 11
Slide 12
Slide 13

Item 1 of 13

TEACHING

New

STAFFERS

Being a yearbook staffer requires being a well rounded journalist, so before we let new staffers start covering events, we take about a month at the beginning of every school year to teach everything from writing, to design, as well as photography; therefore, when proofing time rolls around, my staff knows the quality I am looking for.

*Note not all of these presentations are my creation, they are a collection of advisors presentations I have been given the ‘A O.K . to use and I swear by their contents every year - just about every journalist on my staff was taught with these slideshows.

How to interview

View
HOw to be a photographer

view
Design 911

View
Intro to Writing

View
Intro to writing pt.2

view

Item 1 of 5

THE

Editing

PROCESS

I am a strong believer that no matter how good of a designer, writer, or photographer you are, we all can benefit from some constructive feedback. When in yearbook, I understand we are creating a product a customer will buy unsure about what it will look like; therefore, I believe it is my job as an editor to make sure the product they are receiving is accurate and innovative.

Furthermore I strive to make sure I help uplift other journalists around me, working with my staff so we can all evolve as writers, designers, and photographers. There is no piece of content in The Prospector that has not been viewed by me, in which I take pride working one on one with my staffers to create unique and quality coverage.

Editing

WRITING

When we have smaller stories like body copy, every words matters, so I made some suggestions to synthesize some of the background information.

These edits helped adjusted her sentence structure and the flow of her story to maintain the objective but not interject opinion at the same time.

BEFORE

This endsheet design is for our 24’ yearbook and was a collaboration between me and my co EIC. As the layout was taking shape, we realized the hierarchy was off, and our table of contents was too complex, making it hard to read.

BEFORE

The first thing I noticed on this spread when it was turned in, was its large amounts of white space; therefore, my goal when working with the designer was to tighten up her spread. I wanted to highlight the photography and really allow the dominant to stand out.

Editing

BEFORE

I’m no stranger to editing my own work. I took these illustrations and layout to Walsworth Elite Weekend where Walsworth director, Mike Taylor, stated in a very nice way that the spread looked like it was out of a children’s book. Which in Mikes words meant, "I’m bored”.

NOT

Always

SIMPLE

This layout started as a collaboration between me and two other designers as we knew we wanted to make a spread that stood out but also paid homage to each character in the movie. This was our initial layout with the idea that we would use the actual dolls from the movie but it felt flat and unoriginal to us.

On staff, we had an amazing illustrator who had the idea to draw out stills from the movie. We fell in love but were still struggling to break up the large columns of text while also creating clear definition between the mod on the right hand side.

After spacing out the illustrations and adding pull quotes, the layout began to feel show stopping and breathable. Another change we made was “pinking out” the background so when the reader is flipping through their book- the pink pages add contrast.

This package really was a testament to what happens when you give designers complete creative freedom. It definitely takes some trial and error to find a look that communicates the story effectively, but that is also innovative, but once we figure it out, show stopping layouts are created.

DESIGN

Editing designs can be complex due to the need for visual cohesion and storytelling. Achieving the right layout often involves multiple variations, as finding the balance between images and text requires careful consideration of aesthetics and content flow.

After the sensation the Barbie movie brought this past year, we knew we could create an impactful package but finding a design that was as inspiring as the movie proved to be hard.

AFTER

After attending Walsworth Elite Weekend where me and my co EIC got feedback from people like Jim Jordan and Mike Taylor, we started to play with contrasting type in our design which helped the layout feel breathable but still included our theme elements like the quotes and colors.

AFTER

After the edits I was speechless. The spread was a real breath taker as it utilized the negative space in the dominant element in a way that stills allows the text and other photos on the spread to shine through.

AFTER

I went back into my illustration and moved around the perspective of the art, so it no longer laid flat against the page as well as changed the color scheme to make the layout feel more sophisticated. Mike’s new comments on the spread feel along the lines of “Ah now you got it”.

Stay

WAYS WE

ORGANIZED

Organization is crucial in maintaining a cohesive and memorable representation of the school year. Running hundreds of stories, photos, and designs we use a series of docs that I help maintain to keep track of content.