Brooke Richards, daughter of Angie and Paul Richards, was recently named September Artist of the Month at Royalton High School. Richards attended Sacred Heart and St. Katharine Drexel for elementary school and came to Royalton in 7th grade.

 

"When I came to tour the school back in 6th grade, the first thing that stood out to me was Mr. Halverson’s Art room" said Richards. ""I walked into the classroom and was in awe of all the amazing tile paintings on the ceiling. I knew then that this was the right school for me and that I wanted to take classes with this teacher who allowed his students to express their creativity in such unconventional ways. I started yearbook not knowing what to expect and quickly found that I loved every aspect of it. From ad selling, to taking pictures, to laying out pages, then putting it together and handing them out at the end of the year, it was all enjoyable. We have a fantastic mentor and teacher in Mr. Halverson, who guides us, while at the same time, gives us enough freedom to make our projects our own. I’ve met some great people along the way which I probably wouldn’t have otherwise, and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t enjoy going to class."

 

Josten's yearbook representative, Paul Sorenson, had these words to say about Richards and the yearbook program at Royalton High School. "My sincere congratulations on some new milestones and creative achievements. The yearbook business, and yes it's a business, has many facets that make it great. Brooke Richards, and your staff need to be commended for not only achieving their goals for the book, but knocking them out of the park. Old Saying, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." "Royalton, not the biggest town on the map, but the quality and program you put together is at the top with the biggest and the brightest. Your book needs to be sent in for consideration against some of Josten's best books nationally!"

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"Brooke has broken every record that exists in the history of yearbook advising that I've seen for the more than 30 years."" stated RHS Yearbook Advisor and Visual Arts Instructor Carl Halverson. "And I've had the pleasure to work with hundreds of exceptional and gifted students. In yearbook, our first goal is to raise enough money in ad sales to afford all of the bells and whistles that this project may afford. Brooke shattered the all-time Ad Sales record, which not only gives us a yearbook that visually competes with the best, but also keeps the total cost of our yearbook down for our entire student body. She broke the total number of completed pages record last year by designing 34 pages, and will break her own record again this year as she designs the cover, ad pages, endsheets, senior section and sports templates. As the lone Senior Editor, she is in charge of funding this business project, designing graphically, everything from the theme to the cover, and editing the 100 pages inside the book. This is not a make-believe project for a competition. This is the ""Real Life"" model that carries with it, the responsibilities of real world issues. With her three year Royal Yearbook experience, which includes; sales and marketing, project design, business management, graphic illustration, and quality team leadership abilities, Brooke has created the kind of portfolio to compete at the next level at any post-secondary institution that she may apply to.

 

Thank you Brooke for stepping up to the plate all three seasons of the year, and using your extraordinary gifts to create Royalton High School's most historically significant, and memorable project of the year, 2019.