Melbourne High

Yearbook Celebrates the Completion of Vol. 74 With a Banquet by Sarah Cameruci, Riley Blum, Ali Myers

To commemorate the end of the year, the Melbourne High School yearbook program held a banquet on April 28th, 2025. It was a fun and meaningful way to celebrate the hard work students put into creating this year’s edition of Stepping Stone. Awards were given out to recognize students who showed leadership, creativity, and dedication. Editor positions for the incoming school year were announced as well. For juniors Kyle McLaren, Cassidy Mammay, and Isabelle Heise, and sophomore Ali Myers, the banquet was full of emotion and pride for everything they had accomplished as a part of the journalism program.

Cassidy Mammay was honored with the “Goes Above and Beyond” award. “I think I won this award because of how much time I put into this class. I’m in two periods of yearbook, so I am putting in more time than most, but I still put in a ton of time outside of class, which is why I think I got this award,” said Mammay. Mammay also went through tough moments during the year. “A challenge that I overcame this year was a lack of motivation. I got burnt out in the middle of the year, and the way I overcame it was by taking things slow and asking for help when I needed it. Also, I reminded myself why I love yearbook, which helped” said Mammay

For many members of the yearbook staff, their advisor, Mrs. Jamie Reynolds was an inspiration. “Mrs. Reynolds has influenced me a lot. She is such a sweet lady who has a huge love for yearbook. Her passion and love for it has motivated me to work harder. She is also the reason why I joined yearbook. I had her for English in my freshman year, and I loved her as a teacher. I wanted to have her again, so I joined yearbook,” said Mammay. 

The most touching part of the banquet for Mammay was receiving the “We Love You Award” which was given to Mammay by her fellow staff members. “The awards mean a lot to me. Knowing that our teacher and my classmates see how hard I’m working truly makes me feel seen. My favorite award I got was the ‘We Love You Award.’ It had messages from my classmates of everything kinds they had to say about me, and it is super sweet,” said Mammay. 

For Isabelle Heise, the banquet was a reminder of everything the yearbook team accomplished together. “I think the banquet was such a great way to celebrate everyone’s hard work over the year. Putting together the yearbook can be a challenge, and it takes a lot of teamwork to get it done. Getting just to relax and celebrate at the banquet felt so good,” said Heise. Heise had to step up this year and take on a new role, as an editor of the staff. “I think the biggest challenge I faced this year was having to lead a group by myself. I wasn’t really expecting it, but the members of my group were super amazing and patient with me,” said Heise. 

Like Mammay, Heise appreciated the support she received from Mrs. Reynolds. “Mrs. Reynolds is one of the most encouraging teachers I have ever had. She really wants the best for us and for the yearbook program. She is always helping us improve and makes yearbook such a positive environment,” said Heise. 

One of the awards Heise received really stood out to her. “Getting awards was fun and super encouraging. I really try my best to be the best I can be for our yearbook program, and it was nice to know that other people see that. My favorite award was the Magic Wand Award because it came from Mrs. Reynolds, and I wasn’t expecting it,” said Heise.

Ali Myers received the MVP award, a recognition that meant a lot to her. “My favorite memory that I think helped me reach my goal of recognition for this award [MVP] was helping my team the best I could and going out of my way to complete certain assignments and making sure I completed all my tasks on time and not setting my team back,” said Myers, “to me, it was a very thoughtful award to receive and motivated me to keep up the hard work, determination, and care for the book in the following years.” 

Myers also faced challenges during the year, like dealing with interviews that didn’t go as planned. “I was tight on time for something and couldn't get a response from an individual I had interviewed, so I just had to make sure I had a successful backup plan and overcame this block in the road by changing people very last minute in some cases or changing up the mod so I could complete without an additional interview.” 

Like her peers, Myers gave credit to Mrs. Reynolds for inspiring her throughout the year. “Mrs Reynolds influenced me a lot as she always gives 100% and shows such a deep love and care for the book. She is very organized, and I love that about her because I am as well, and when it comes to the designing of the book, she always has very cool and unique ideas for layouts and wording, which inspired me to think outside of the box,” said Myers.

Looking towards next year, the members of this years’ staff who were returning were excited to hear which editor positions they would hold on next years’ staff. The yearbook program has the tradition of revealing editor positions in a letter handed to each member.  Kyle McLaren, a second year member, was presented with the editor position, Historian. “When I opened the letter, I felt proud and excited. Being the historian would not only give me the opportunity to learn more about Melbourne High’s history, but also help others learn and incorporate it into the next yearbook,” said McLaren. As next year is the 100th year of Melbourne High School, the staff are looking forward to making such an important yearbook. “For next year, I’m looking forward to including a mix of old and new style elements in the yearbook and getting the opportunity to write about interesting historical facts about Melbourne High,” said McLaren.

From overcoming challenges to putting in extra hours and stepping into leadership roles, the yearbook staff worked hard this year to create a book the whole school could be proud of. The banquet was not just a party, but it was a celebration of every late night, every finished page, and every person who made the book possible.

Caption (Left): Gathering around their names on the board, juniors Kyra Chang, Ansleigh Friday, Isabelle Heise, and sophomore Piper Faherty celebrate their new editor positions for the next year, revealed during the banquet.