Despite a small staff, the five students that oversee Blueprint are making a big impact on their faculty advisor and the Wylie East High School community.

The student-run, digital publication is a “sibling” of the school’s yearbook, said faculty advisor Kimberly Creel, who also teaches yearbook, photojournalism, newspaper and Journalism 1. Students affiliated with the yearbook or Blueprint will often assist one another with photos or writing cutlines, she added.

Creel said her students frequently come to her with enterprising ideas for Blueprint’s coverage outside of alumni features and student and teacher profiles, adding that publishing online also allows students to post articles that are timely as opposed to having an infrequent printing schedule.

“It gives us the opportunity to write and update things before they go stale,” she said.

However, Creel said she tries to be the facilitator of the students’ talent, acting in a way to guide and advise them while leaving editorial and coverage decisions to them.

“I give them advice and tell them to stay within legal and ethical parameters,” Creel said. “After that, the kids take it and run with it.”

In the opinion of Copy Editor Gloria Olajimi, Blueprint became a primary source of information when students were schooled virtually during the pandemic. In her role, she said she wants to provide that same resource to students at Wylie East.

Both her and staff writer Maggie Volpi said they enjoy interacting with various student groups on campus ranging from sports teams to student organizations.

“I get to really interact with multiple different types of students,” Gloria said. “It gave me different perspectives on the lives going on around me.”

Maggie said her favorite part is building relationships with various members of the student body.

“It’s so interesting how different people answer questions,” Maggie said. “I love it when I get a response that I wasn’t expecting to something; it’s really satisfying to learn about the personal lives of other people.”

For the full story, see the March 29 issue of The Wylie News.