KAITLIN REYNOLDS
student journalist
EDITING, LEADERSHIP & TEAM BUILDING
Being a leader was something that wasn't entirely foreign to me when I stepped into my roles as Editor-in-Chief of the Prowler Yearbook and News Director of the Catalyst Newspaper, as I have had countless leadership roles previously through my involvement in various activities. However, what was new for me was the magnitude of the staff teams I was leading: over 80 journalists in total between the publications. As a leader of publication staffs I have to combat unfinished work and problem solve the daily issues that constantly arise, but I do it all with a smile on my face. I am fully aware of the constant stress that student journalists are put under as they gather interviews and rush to meet deadlines all while trying to produce work that they are proud to have their names' attached to. As an editor I have made it my mission to not lead by scaring staffers into working, but by being the friendly face that they feel comfortable asking for help and working with to solve challenges. I provide compliments through constructive feedback to lighten the weight of errors to correct, and continuously work to bring smiles to the faces of staffers. I don't turn off my silly and goofy personality around the people I lead, instead I use it to form the relationships essential for creating a team of journalists who strive for excellence.
STAFFERS say...
The most telling measure of my leadership on the staffs of the Prowler Yearbook, Catalyst Newspaper and MWHS Wildcat News are the ways in which my peers and fellow staffers view me — they are the ones who are directly influenced by my leadership and who see me in action everyday.
"
She is able to present her ideas to a group and ensure that they are carried out in a way that allows everyone to succeed. While writing scripts and filming for the weekly broadcast, Katie strives for perfection and works tirelessly to achieve it. Her work ethic and ability to lead others during periods of high stress have shown me how dedicated she is to her work in journalism.
KADEN ROTH,
CATALYST ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & MWHS WILDCAT NEWS CO-ANCHOR
"
Katie has easily become someone I've looked up to through these past few months and I've never seen someone with so much compassion and pride for her work. Katie is always putting people in front of herself. Within the short time that I have known Katie it's easy to see the love that she has for helping people in need and her altruistic tendencies are far from unnoticeable. Never have I met someone so willing and devoted to putting other people before herself.
DELANEY LUECK,
FIRST YEAR PROWLER STAFFER
"
Katie is nothing short of a leader. She is always on top of things and makes sure to go the extra mile to make sure things are done in time. She is a role model and is always at peoples side to help with yearbook designs, placing things in Photoshop and making sure everything looks good and goes smoothly. She helps prioritize the yearbook and direct people's thought process in the right direction, while bringing the yearbook class together as a whole.
ANNA BURTON,
PROWLER PHOTO EDITOR
"
One thing that makes Katie such a great leader is how she always takes charge and never doubts herself. She will always go the extra mile in order to make sure that everything is taken care of. Her work ethic is definitely her strongest quality as she will work extra hours to make sure that everything is done to its fullest potential. She always completes work by the deadline and is always willing to help people when they need it. I couldn't agree more with her role as Editor-in-Chief.
ERIN WUNDERLICH,
FIRST YEAR PROWLER STAFFER
"
Kaitlin Reynolds is one of the strongest people I know. There is never a time when she doesn't take action when there is a classmate in need or pick up some extra work to help someone out. She leads our yearbook class with determination and the will to help make everyone be the best writer they could be.
RILEY KRAMOLISCH,
CATALYST STAFFER & PROWLER SPORTS EDITOR
"
In the short time that I have known Katie she's constantly been someone who I look up to. In class, when it comes to needing help writing a story or editing a broadcast she's always there to lend a helping hand. Just having her in the room makes the environment better and improves the morale of her peers. Her positive attitude and work ethic has truly taught me how to be a better journalist. Not only that, but she's someone I can look up to for advice or just a laugh.
QUINN BURTON,
FIRST YEAR CATALYST STAFFER
Editing
As Editor-in-Chief of the Prowler Yearbook and News Director for the Catalyst Newspaper my main role is to edit my fellow staffers work. Click the link below to learn more in depth about the editing process I go through for both of my editor positions and how I edit my own work.
Photo courtesy of Erin Wunderlich
communication
My two years as Editor-in-Chief of the Prowler Yearbook and one year as News Director of the Catalyst Newspaper have taken place during a time where there have been constant communication barriers. In order to keep up with staffers between quarantines, fluctuating schedules and everyday interruptions I have used a variety of communication methods both digital and in-person.
Messaging
I have found messaging to be the easiest and fastest way for me to communicate with staff members outside of class time. I frequently send out reminders and respond to their questions.
When there is inclement weather we have e-learning days where we continue to do work from home. During these days I reach out to the entire staff to make sure that everyone knows what the assignment is and I make myself available to answer staffers questions that come up throughout the day.
Since a majority of our work is completed at school I try to maximize the class time that we have. During my break I check in with the staff and print out spreads to round robin edit. This leads to staffers spending less time saving their spreads as PDFs/printing and more time giving each other feedback.
When I edit a story I reach out to the staffer to let them know I have finished so that they can make corrections and move on to the next round of edits. I always make sure to include a compliment on something that I thought they did well on in the story. Corrections can be overwhelming so I remind them of a strength.
STAFF MEET-Ups
As an editor, I am constantly checking in with staff members to see how I can help them. In yearbook, I frequently adjust designs, assist with cutouts and answer other questions that come up. In journalism I touch base with staffers who are writing news stories that week and make sure that they are on track to be published.
Photo courtesy of Jetta Hoffner
daily announcements
Each day, at the beginning of class, I go over with the staff what they should be working on for the day, let them know of any events that need to be covered and bring up common mistakes I have seen with reminders on how to correct them.
Photo courtesy of Jetta Hoffner
EDITOR MEETINGS
Editor meetings are something that I participate in on both the Prowler Yearbook and the Catalyst Newspaper staffs. We sit down and discuss issues we have seen and brainstorm solutions. Additionally, they serve as an opportunity for editors to set goals to be accomplished, critique one another and share differing ideas.
Photo courtesy of Brooke Sliva
During this meeting with Catalyst Newspaper editors we discussed issue two of the print paper and went into detail on different ideas for the in-depth and editorial, which we later introduced to the entire staff. As News Director, I also spoke about which news stories produced during the semester were the strongest, most relevant and should be included in the issue.
As a result of one of the Catalyst editor meetings we decided to create reviews to address common mistakes we had seen. As News Director, I created a slide show about news stories and presented it to the class. It covers the major aspects of a news story and focuses on areas where I saw frequent issues. It was later posted on Google Classroom for staffers to refer back to as needed. Click through the slideshow above.
Ladder
When creating a yearbook there are countless spreads to keep track of. Through the use of a ladder I can easily share with staffers the status of each page in the printing process, what is being covered and who is in charge of covering each spread.
Getting others involved
Publications can't run without staff members to write and produce content, edit work and capture events. Below are a few ways that I have gotten more students interested in journalism and have encouraged them to join a staff.
Middle school Program
Oftentimes students don't sign up to take Intro to Journalism their freshmen year because they don't know that it is an option and end up taking it their sophomore year. This limits their time in publication based classes to just junior and senior year. In order to get students involved earlier on, I partnered with Russell Middle School, a feeder into Millard West High School, and worked with students on the basics of journalism while forming an easy path for them to get involved once they enter high school.
Activity fair
I have set up a booth at my school's activity fair multiple times and have spoken to students about why they should join at least one of the three publications that Millard West offers. There, I have collected emails from interested students and later contacted them about taking the prerequisite class when it was time for students to create their schedules for the following school year.
Promotional Video
Before students registered for classes for the 2022-23 school year I was in charge of creating a promotional video to inform them about the different publications that my school has and the classes that go along with them. I focused on making it engaging by giving students an inside look at what each class entails while still providing important information like the course numbers and prerequisites. Click below to watch.
Creating a community
During my first year on the Prowler Yearbook staff I felt like there was a huge divide between the sophomores, who were new to the class (me), and the more experienced upperclassmen. One of my main goals as Editor-in-Chief was to ensure a friendly and inclusive environment for all staffers. Here are a few of the ways that I have achieved my goal.
food days
To "dip into" and celebrate National Yearbook Week I planned a dip day. It served as an easy way for staffers to take a small break from working on their spreads and get a taste of each other's cooking. I plan food days like these often to help the staff get to know each other.
White elephant
In December, I organized white elephant gift exchanges in both Yearbook and Advanced Journalism. This served as a fun activity for the staffs to do before leaving for two weeks of winter break.
Jeopardy
As part of National Yearbook Week, I created a Jeopardy game. It included questions in the categories of "name that thing," "caption format," "photography," "copy" and "miscellaneous." I based the questions off of common errors I had seen so that it could also serve as a review.
lunch
Everyday I stay in the journalism room during lunch to work. This year new staffers have joined me and I have personally gotten to know them better this way.
Continued Learning
Journalism is an ever growing field that is constantly changing. In order to keep up with the differing trends and continue learning from professionals in the field, I have attended several national and state conventions and workshops. I have applied what I have learned at these events and have implemented them into my own work, as well as shared new ideas with fellow staffers.
National Convention
In November of 2019 I attended the National JEA/NSPA convention. There, I was able to attend numerous sessions on varying topics including "Protecting your press freedom," "Trends in yearbook," "Social media and influencer marketing for yearbook," and "Editing strategies for stronger stories and layout."
Photos courtesy of Mark Hilburn
STATE CONVENTIONS
In October of 2019 and 2021 I attended the NHSPA's (Nebraska High School Press Association) journalism convention at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. I went to several workshops on various topics including podcasting, writing, design, broadcasting, photography and the New Voices laws that Nebraska's student journalists and advisers are currently trying to pass.
Photos courtesy of Mark Hilburn
NET RADIO TOUR
In October of 2019, I toured NET Radio in Lincoln, Neb. There, I learned about the behind the scenes of a professional journalistic publication. I toured the studio where they film their live broadcasts, their production rooms and their bus that they bring to on site stories.
Photo courtesy of Mark Hilburn
WALSWORTH WORKSHOP
Photo courtesy of Riley Kramolisch
In September of 2021, I attended the Walsworth "One for the Books" workshop put on by Walsworth Yearbooks. At the event I went to sessions about trends in yearbook and about how to write more captivating headlines. Additionally, they showcased strong books where I was able to seek inspiration for the 2021-22 Prowler Yearbook.