MBYC Yearbook

Organization Name:
Mojave Basin Youth Corps, Inc.
City & State:
Describe your creative piece – what is it and what has it been used for, and why is it innovative?
My submission is our student created Yearbook at Mojave Basin Youth Corps, Inc. This Yearbook was made using Adobe CS4, especially Adobe Indesign, and was created by students who learned graphic design at Mojave Basin. Mojave Basin students are considered "at-risk" youth, but these students are incredibly talented. Learning graphic design from MBYC Staff Member and graphic designer Nolan Smith, they were able to learn a valuable skill, to express themselves artistically and show what our organization has done in our community. The layout of the Yearbook was created in InDesign, with photography touch ups in Photoshop, and once all the pages were laid out, the pages were saved as JPEGS in order to create a digital e-book. This is innovative since Yearbooks are not traditionally seen in a YouthBuild program, and we provided digital e-books to send to community partners to view online. We have received praise for this endeavor from various other programs and community officials.
What issue or problem were you working to address with this piece?
The issues were to provide youth in an impoverished community with a new skill set, that of graphic design, and also display what good can come from a community when everyone pulls together, community members, partners and more. Adelanto is a town seen in an ill light most of the time in the press, this project aimed to show that the negative press is only a fraction of what the youth of Adelanto and the High Desert can do.
How has your submission successfully impacted your organization’s ability to solve this issue/problem?
Our Yearbook provided students a chance to practice their new skills in graphic design, photograph enhancements and techniques, with some now down the path of creating their own books. Shown to our partner, John Muir Charter Schools President Buzz Breedlove, Mr. Breedlove was impressed with the work our students put in on this project and commended MBYC on this effort. Community partners were given a copy to show how out community works together to better enlighten our youth and bring the community together.