Culmen continues its dynasty of success with another big-time sweep in the awards department. The latest accolades include a first-place award with special merit from the American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA) and a first-class award with three marks of distinction from the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA).

"This is really exciting, and it puts a certain pressure on us to make the yearbook even better," said co-editor-in-chief, senior Meghan Reilly. Due to Culmen' s recognition by NSPA, the staff is eligible for one of the highest marks of distinction a high school publication can obtain: a Pacemaker. Pacemaker judges recognize only five to ten schools in the nation. Of their awards so far, Culmen' s coadviser, Amy Rutkowski, said, "It is always such a pleasure to see the hard work of the students pay off."

When asked what lies at the core of the Culmen' s success, both Reilly and the second co-editor-in-chief, senior Greg Bencivengo, agreed, "The staff!" With late night sessions until 11:00 p.m. or later and layout meetings nearly every day after school before a deadline, the Culmen staff is no stranger to high expectations and the intense level of pressure. "It is crazy before a deadline, and the editors and staff do face some stress and tension," said Bencivengo. Each year, the staff continues the art of breaking contest rules, choosing to cater to the student body rather than the specific confines of each association, which set certain word-choice and color limitations. "Many yearbooks that win are in black and white, but we don't do this because we know our students would not want to read or buy that yearbook," said Reilly. In order to remain eligible for their high level of recognition, the editors explain each of their choices in their award applications.

This year, the staff revealed the book's theme earlier than ever. Seen on the t-shirts the staff occasionally wears, this year's theme will be Vox Populi, Latin for The Voice of the People. What can students expect from this yearbook? Reilly and Bencivengo promise, "Sophistication, clean designs, more pictures and appealing writing."