Yearbook qualifies for national award

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WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS: The 2025-2026 The Edge yearbook editorial team get together for a snap after being awarded their presitigious national recognition and Pacemaker final designation. Photo courtesy of Thea Larragoite

By: Natalie Childers, Alejandro Bocaranda

Established in 2008 along with West Broward, the yearbook program has played a vital role in the school’s success. Throughout the years, the yearbook program has won various awards and has gained their success through hard work and long hours.

The Edge Yearbook’s dedication to capturing student life has not gone unnoticed, with the program receiving an All-Florida distinction every year since English educator Brooke Acosta took reins of the class in 2021. Their most recent achievement, an All-American yearbook designation , has them travelling to Minneapolis to be recognized for the publication’s enduring quality and recent success.

“To have a successful yearbook, you have to think about your student body. You have to be able to identify and include everybody. Our goal is always to include everybody. I think success is defined by your community enjoying what they’re receiving. And that feedback we get every year pushes us to make better yearbooks,” said Brooke
Acosta, Yearbook advisor.

Since Acosta began her position as yearbook advisor, the program has yearly won All-Florida, a prestige for state high school journalism along with other awards. Last year, they submitted their book for evaluation with the National Scholastic Press Association. They were recognized with the “All American” award, mastering at least five out of the seven areas of distinction that were critiqued. This year, the book was recognized as a “Pacemaker finalist,” qualifying amongst the top 17 percent and potentially amongst the top five percent receiving the award. Making them an award winning publication.

“I think it’s [the nomination] given us a lot of confidence. It definitely reassured us that we know what we’re doing. We definitely have some big shoes to fill this year. But I think it’s helped our confidence,” said Thea Larragoite, Co Editor in Chief of Yearbook program.

Yearbook programs pilgrimage from around the nation to NSPA’s High School Journalism Convention. Workshops, keynote speakers, and on-the-spot competitions all form part of the conference. Industry experts come in to guide the next generation of photojournalism storytellers. Additionally, the space serves as a critical networking event for students and mentors. Filled with fun, learning, and connection, the conference is the most highly reputed in high school journalism. It will be held this year in Minneapolis on April 18th through April 20th.

“It definitely gives us credibility. We win awards all the time from our publisher and from FSPA, but this is a big one for us.  It really makes you proud of your work. It makes you think, wow, I did that. I contributed to that.  So it definitely uplifts the spirits of everyone and shows that our work matters,” said Dylan Ho, Content Editor.

SUMMER FUN: [Left to Right] Rosanna Dimarco (12), Thea Larragoite (12), Gaby Paredes (Graduated), Erica Zuber (Graduated) and Angie Borge (12) pose at the Palooza convention, a seasonal space for editorial teams to collaborate. Photo courtesy of Thea Larragoite

It is a prestigious honor for a yearbook program to be recognized with a Pacemaker award. Dating back to 1927, the award has been given annually to the best of the best and is even known to be the “Pulitzer Prize of student journalism.” If the yearbook program receives this award, they will forever be recognized as one of the best Yearbook programs in the country.

“Every year, we are faced with a lot of challenges. Every year is a little bit different, but we and I have the benefit of experience. So, we build on those challenges. We take the feedback that we get from our critiques, from our community, and we always push ourselves to be better. We’re just always thinking about how can we include more students.  How can we make this more engaging? How can we make this a better experience for everybody? Looking back, it was a really was a great book,” said Acosta.