El Dorado High School's yearbook, “The Legend,” has been recognized nationally for its excellence by both the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) and the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA).
The school’s 2023 yearbook titled, "Cómo Cuándo” was honored with CSPA’s 2024 Gold Crown Award, for overall excellence in a student print or digital medium. El Dorado was the only high school in the El Paso region and the Socorro Independent School District to win the Gold Crown Award. Additionally, the yearbook received the prestigious NSPA Pacemaker Award, the highest honor in scholastic journalism, making it the fourth consecutive year that “The Legend” has received this recognition.
Yearbook Advisor Vanessa Martinez said winning both awards the same year was a huge testament to the incredible amount of work the students put into making the yearbook a success.
“We're really proud of the students and all of the hard work that they put in,” Martinez said. “The hours upon hours were paid off by getting that kind of national recognition.”
Martinez attributed the yearbook's success to its content being in both English and Spanish, reflecting the high school’s border community.
Diego Cruz Castruita, who was a photo editor on the 2023 yearbook staff, spent months translating the text from English to Spanish. Castruita, who served as this year’s editor-in-chief, said it was important to publish the yearbook in both languages to be inclusive of the school's large Hispanic student population.
“It feels amazing to win and to be noticed around the country as a good yearbook,” said Castruita, who graduated on May 31.
Martinez emphasized that working on the yearbook helps students develop valuable skills to succeed in college and the workforce, including time-management, problem-solving, and teamwork. Additionally, it gives them insight into what it will be like to work in journalism in the real world.
“The yearbook staff really gives students the opportunity to take the skills that they're learning in graphic design and photography and journalism, which we offer through the courses, but then take that and apply it to a real living project,” Martinez said. “So, the students really get this feeling of working in a real journalism setting.”
Iolany Martinez, a photo editor on the yearbook staff for the past two years, plans to attend the University of Texas at El Paso this fall and study multimedia journalism. Her goal is to become a journalist or a journalism teacher.
Iolany Martinez said she was grateful for all the opportunities she had in El Dorado’s journalism program. Not only was she part of an award-winning yearbook staff, but she also traveled to conferences in San Francisco and Boston. She said her hands-on experience as a member of the yearbook staff has helped prepare her for her future career.
“I have an idea of how hard I'm going to have to work to become a good journalist or a good journalism teacher,” said Iolany Martinez, a 2024 El Dorado High School graduate. “Being in this program has really helped me know what I'm going to be looking forward to.”