“This year was crazy!” said Woodland Park High School Yearbook Photo Editor Ethan Makowsky when describing the 2020-21 school year — words that were likely echoed by every member of the school’s yearbook staff and editorial team.

Of course, what made last year especially challenging was the COVID-19 pandemic, with its mercurial shutdowns and restrictions.

About 20 students signed up for yearbook in 2020. The editorial team, in addition to Makowsky, was Editor in Chief Alaska Woods, Copy Editor Madelyn Mayer, Design Editor Emma Hembrough and Editor Morgan Wilson.

“As you might imagine, it was difficult to get the coverage we needed, especially in the first semester,” said Yearbook Advisor David Graf. “Even when some events did open up, attendance was limited. We weren’t allowed to send a photographer to the first two football games.”

Graf is also the student newspaper advisor. He teaches history and English and is one of two advisors for the WPHS Sources of Strength program. The class is open as an elective to all students interested in journalism and photography.

It was a unique year for a yearbook photography, said Makowsky, who graduated from WPHS in May, plans to major in journalism and photojournalism at Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore., and then at the University of Oregon, also in Eugene.

“There were fewer events and less notice when they did take place,” he said. “It was harder to go out and get photos and interviews. We were trying to get by. … I take personal photos and I used some of them.”

Individual student-body photos weren’t a problem because another company filled in, he added.

Members of the student body who could attend events pitched in with some of their photos, Graf said. “I also want to thank the school photographer, Paul Magnuson, for allowing us to use a few of his photos.”

This was Wilson’s second year on the yearbook staff and her first year as an editor. With the rest of the editorial team now graduated, the rising junior will be Editor in Chief in the fall. She plans to enroll in a broadcast-journalism program after graduating, but isn’t sure where.

“The first year on the yearbook staff reeled me in,” she said. “This second year was a challenge. I had to think about how I would be editor and how to make it mine. It was super difficult to get people involved with video conferences half the year.”

Graf said every year the students build the book from the ground up, starting with a yearbook camp before the semester begins. That didn’t happen in 2020.

“The students create the design and choose the theme, the fonts, the folios …,” he said. “This was a young staff and the editorial team did a great job.”

Their work paid dividends of accolades in the Colorado Student Media Association-sponsored

annual Best of Colorado Awards. The WPHS team won eight team and individual awards, competing against other Colorado high schools with 1,000 students or fewer.

The biggest award was first place for “Theme Package Presentation

for the Entire Book.”

“This is awesome when the year was so challenging,” Graf said.