JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — The pandemic forced the cancellation of a lot of events over the past year, especially at schools around Metro Atlanta.
For some, it meant losing the yearbook staff, a traditional way for many to remember their adventures while at school.
Some schools however made sure what ‘did’ happen, was published.
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Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen talked with the yearbook staff at Chattahoochee High School in Johns Creek, where the yearbook was printed just the same, the staff not wanting to let their classmates down.
Petersen spoke with Ali Lumpkin, who is on the staff and just wanted to be able to give something back to her school.
“I feel like a lot of things have been taken away from people. We really wanted the students to have the book,” Lumpkin said.
“It was just really important to create a whole book. It’s a yearbook. You have to have everything in it, you know?” staffer Jill Jackson said.
The Chattahoochee yearbook is called “The Current” and while teacher and yearbook advisor Briana Curry told Petersen it was a huge project to take on in a normal year, it was even harder during the pandemic. Curry said some school events never took place and half of the student run staff was virtual, yet they were still able to produce a book as big as previous years -- 364 pages.
“I’m incredibly proud of them. I tell them all the time, and I know they think I’m being dramatic, but I don’t think they realize how big a deal this is. Hopefully they do now,” Curry said.
“Even though we had to have at home photographers -- students taking pictures of themselves -- it still turned out great,” staffer Timothy Jeong said.
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This school year was Chattahoochee’s 30th anniversary. The yearbook is titled “30 and Thriving”
“We’ve had a couple people walk away and we hear them say, ‘Yay! This is awesome! This is so sick!’ And with this being the anniversary edition, I think they seem to really like it,” Jackson said.
The 30th anniversary edition of The Current may be one of the most memorable ever printed. While it may not be defined BY the pandemic, it may very well be remembered for how the staff and students and Chattahoochee High overcame it.
“We really faced the odds for this book. We had a lot against us. We couldn’t even meet in person until November. We did everything online which got really crazy. But we managed to make an amazing book and I’m really proud of everyone,” Lumpkin said.
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