The eighth year of The Pearl Post was anything but conventional.

This year, we’ve successfully redesigned the newspaper by changing from a tabloid to magazine layout, increasing the number of pages published and making them more interactive.

Our goal to publish every issue with little to no errors was easier said than done. Due to the redesign, it was difficult to keep elements that appeared on each page uniform.

It wasn’t until we went April’s Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association (JEA/NSPA) convention in Seattle that we learned about a shareable library that holds all the elements of a basic layout that will make uniform designs more possible.

Another goal that was difficult to fulfill as editors was making our deadlines. Due to busy schedules that included sports practices and college class commitments, having all the editors at one late day was a rarity.

During my three years on staff, I’ve never been a part of a more quiet and shy group of student journalists. This was a problem at the beginning of the year, for it was difficult to gain much from classroom brainstorming discussions.

I’m happy to say that now every journalist on The Pearl Post, no matter their position, has developed their own voice that’s unique to them. The difference between the stories they wrote for our first issue, compared to the ones published in this one, is impeccable.

The same can be said about the photos taken this year. Each photographer was able to capture raw and authentic student life on campus that can’t be duplicated by any means.

The hard work of our staff was recognized at the March 11 write-off competition at California State University of Northridge (CSUN) where the students competing won the first place sweepstakes.

In addition to the sweepstake award, the paper won third place for best newspaper in Southern California Journalism Education Association’s California All Stars competition.

This year, neither the print nor online publications were nominated for a Pacemaker award. However, I’m hoping that the work done this year helped lay the foundation that would make winning the title more likely.

Although parting from the amazing staff of The Pearl Post is something that I’m not looking forward to, I have no doubt that the staff of the 2017-2018 school year will lead the publication to new heights and successes.