A tradition among high schools in the U.S. is one that requires diligence and dedication by its creators.

The 2018-2019 HHS yearbook is the final product of the work done by the Hershey High School Yearbook Club, a group of nearly 20 dedicated individuals. This whole process began as far back as April of 2017-2018 school year.

In April of 2018, the process for completing the cover art and theme of the yearbook began and would be finished by May. After the cover and theme had been completed, work on the yearbook did not resume until September of 2018. In order to compile all the photos in the yearbook with captions, the club uses a computer program to insert these images and captions into a template. Through this program, care is put into each photo’s quality and alignment with each caption being spell checked.

Tagging the club photos is an especially difficult task as it demands precision in labeling everybody in the photo with the correct name. As an improvement since last year’s yearbook, “we added some QR codes to make it a little more interactive,” said club advisor and chemistry teacher Kimberly Haney.

Since the yearbook’s release, a controversy regarding the cover has been floating around. The yearbook’s spelling of “The Choclatier” has had people questioning the correctness of the spelling. To lay this controversy to rest, Haney said, “It is spelled exactly the way it should be.” She also noted it had been a tradition to spell it that way as it is done that same way in previous yearbooks. It stood out this year in larger font than usual, so students were more inclined to see and question it.

The yearbook has had good reception among the students at HHS. Freshman Leah Powers said, “It’s good quality.” Freshman Danil Bachnak agreed, “The images are good quality and well placed. The theme is good as well.”

With the final result released, club members have been vocal of their work. Junior editor Moosa Qureshi said, “I’m really proud of how the theme as a whole, and the overall look of the yearbook turned out.” Qureshi has worked on the past two yearbooks and has stated his enjoyment in being apart of the club.

Senior editor Maia Spochart said how, “having video footage to look back at,” through the QR codes allows for the memories to be experienced in a different way. Spochart has three years experience in the club, and said having choice over the creative aspects of the yearbook in addition to teaching the junior editors was something she enjoyed.

Club member Ashlyn Weidman said, “I really enjoy being apart of the process of making the book since when you get to see the final product, you know how much work went into it.”  Weidman has been a club member for two years and spent this year taking class pictures, tagging club photos, and inserting senior quotes.

Junior editor Manisha Kodavatiganti has been a member of the club for the past two years. For this latest yearbook, she inserted photos in the yearbook and tagged club photos. She said, “My personal favorite part about yearbook is being able to make something that my peers will be able to cherish for the rest of their lives as memories.”