Ashley Kritzstein
self-analytical evaluation
leadership/teamwork: Working with others in a leadership position was a new thing for me this year but I feel like I did as best I could with this class. I frequently sat with each team working on their spreads and was in consistent contact with the leaders over text and made myself available to everyone. The pros of being a leader is feeling is I get to really see my personal ideas come to life. However, it is also very frustrating because I feel like people do not always listen to me and I am not as powerful or threatening of a leader as Alexa. I think my style of leadership is helpful and even though I try I do not think I am taken as seriously as I should be. It is also hard for me because I am really friends will all of the people in this class and I do not like it when people are upset with me so that makes me less successful. Next semester I think I am going to try and maybe join more with the other editors and maybe tell Alexa what to say so maybe more will get done. The skills I have gained by running this class are going to be extremely useful because now I feel like I will be more comfortable speaking and commanding a room and I have also become more decisive. actual production skills: I learned how important every part of a team is because every little thing missing can make a huge difference with the spreads. I also learned how to use edesign along with the rest of the staff and it forced me to adapt quickly to new programs which is a skill I will use throughout the rest of my life. deadlines: For deadlines I found it best too look over and do as much as you can the few days before a deadline and write down specifically what is left. That way it was easy for me to give team leaders specific assignments and for me to be mentally prepared as well. I would try and keep closer tabs on each team throughout the deadline rather than near the end next semester, and I think the binders will be helpful in doing that. journalism ethics: I learned how importatnt it is to uphold the true ethics of journalism and to enfore on my staff that making things up for a deadline means nothing if our book is innaccurate. Even though the judges might not know it is still very important because the book is for the students and is supposted to truthfully represent this school year. dedication: I was an assett to the staff because I opened class daily and helped each team prepare the early and late stages of their spreads. I have stayed late or worked on yearbook for hours before the deadline and on each deadline day along with the true deadline nights. Deadline two I worked twenty hours in two days on the spreads and spacing to prepare for submission. I honestly believe I am one of the most commited stafers and I put in a ton of work to make it successful. self-reflectoin: A few problems I have faced this semster involve the fonts, learning edesign and gaining respect from the team leaders. The edesign and sizing of fonts has truly been a trial and error situation however it taught me to be more decisive and now that I understand it there will not be more problems next semester. I also learned that it is super hard to get people that are only one year younger than you to listen or remember and act on everything you say. I am continuting to grow as a leader and hope that next semester goes more smooth. My greatest weakness would be procrastination, it is easy to do that in my position because most of my work does not really show up until the end of the deadlines. I could continue to sit with the teams more frequently and stay up to date with trello, completing at least one task a day so I will have less to do later.
reflection #1
Since summer camp I have worked closely with Mia in creating a specific design for each team to follow, I also have tried to take charge of the class and help maintain a routine for the staff to follow. My goal for this year was to create a book that is as consistent as possible that I and the rest of the schoo can be proud of. I genuinely feel that the work I hav done by staying so late and practicing on spread afte spread to create a specific design I can share with th class had really helped me achieve that goal. I believ that my influence on the staff in the morning is con tinuing to teach them how a publication should run and that we are all a team. A large part of my contribution to the book outside of the classroom has been the weekend deadline days I spend with Korie and Mia. We have developed a stystem of going through spread by spread and taking turns tweaking design and filling in blank or incorrect information as best as we possibly can. This process then leads to the final spacing and checks from Alexa and I. The work I do on the weekends aids in the smooth transitions between spreads and will get us big points with the judges. The work is not all too difficult just tedious however very worth it and I have learned so much about my staff and about what makes a good leader since I really had to take charge because Mrs. Hart could not focus so strongly on us this past year.
The colors and simplicity was based off of ideas of Mia and I and the title and entire theme was my original idea
tear sheets I applied the folios to every spread in deadline one and checked for correctness in deadline two. Also, I went over every page before submision to ensure correct spacing and design. With Korie and Mia, I design and edit every spread the weekend before the deadline.
for all of the senior ads pages I had to create a new folio and check over them all before final submission
maintaining a dominant color within sections and the proper spacing between mods and photos was hard to manage however I believe most of the spreads, like this one, turned out great.
We developed several mods that placed cutouts in circles throughout the entire book and maintaining consistency so all of them looked like the one on this spread was a part of mine and the team leader’s jobs
I was in charge of recieving and flowing every portrait page and delegating other jobs to Cecilia
all about me