The yearbook staff celebrated an historic win of their own while the Oklahoma Scholastic Media celebrated “100 Years of Awesome” on November 2. Coming home with 21 individual awards and a rating of Highest Honors, the Aquila staff and adviser Kelli Taylor were pleased with how the 2015 book was received by the OSM judges.

“It’s always nice to get that reassurance that you’re doing good work,” Taylor said. “It’s important that our student body enjoy the book, but doing well at competition really helps us get better as a staff.”

The staff attended educational workshops that covered topics from photography to design and even headline writing. This year’s keynote speaker Bruce Watterson shared his ideas with the 670 students who attended the event.

The 2015 yearbooks were assessed by anonymous judges hired by OSM for their expertise in the field. This year, the OSM allowed yearbook staffs to send in more than one entry per category, allowing the Aquila staff and others more opportunities to bring home awards. Taylor took full advantage of the new policy and sent in around 45 individual entries for the competition.

Here is the complete listing of awards:

Overall rating: Highest Honors
Overall Ad Section: Honorable Mention, All staff
Headline Writing: 3^rd place, Skyla Parker
Copy Block: 2^nd place, Jordan Farris
Copy Block: 1^st place, Ryan Biggers
Student Life Story: 1^st place, Jessica Myers
Academic Story: 3rd place, Jessica Myers
Alternative Copy: 2^nd place, Katelynn McLaughlin
Spread copy: 3^rd place, Jordan Farris
Spread copy: 1^st place, All staff
Academic spread design: 3^rd place, Katelynn McLaughlin
Student life spread design: 2^nd place, Jessica Myers
Organization spread design: Honorable Mention, Hope Gutierrez
Organization spread design: 2^nd place, Jessica Myers
Sports spread: 3^rd place, Katelynn McLaughlin
Cover/First impression: 2^nd place, All Staff
Sports photo: 3^rd place, Bobby Anaya
Academic photo: 3^rd place, Ryan Biggers
Academic photo: 2^nd place, Bobby Anaya
Academic photo: 1^st place, HCP Staff
Student life photo: 3^rd place, Jessica Myers
Organization photo: 2^nd place, HCP staff