Spotlight

Summer 2009                                                                Back to Spotlight home page

Linda Drake, national yearbook advisor of the year

Alumni profile

She may have stumbled into high school yearbook advising by accident, but the Journalism Education Association knows excellence when it sees it.

Linda Drake (BSE 1973, MA 1977) of Cottonwood Falls, Kan., adviser of The Chase, the Chase County High School yearbook, was named the JEA 2008 National Yearbook Advisor of the Year award. In 2006, too, the Spanish and journalism teacher won the JEA Teacher Inspiration Award.

Drake’s introduction to advising was unexpected. Journalism was not her primary area of interest, but in 1982, the school found itself without a yearbook advisor. “Either I step up or there’s no yearbook – so I got into journalism by accident.” Still, Drake has been impressed with the results and enjoys working with her students in journalism. “Now I teach about seven different courses in journalism,” said Drake. “Once I got in, I really enjoyed it.” Although Drake also advises the staff of the Chase Informer, the student newspaper, the yearbook itself has a special value for Drake. “It’s become one of my special interests.”

Drake said that early difficulties with the yearbook allowed it to broaden into the program it has become. Originally, the yearbook was handled as a simple extracurricular activity, not taking full advantage of its educational potential in journalism. “It was hard to do as an extracurricular activity, so eventually I got it into the program,” said Drake. Drake cited Rick Wiess, superintendent at the time, as a major influence on the program. Weiss also aided in the establishment of the Informer; with its wide circulation of 1,700 copies and district-wide distribution, the paper is, like the yearbook, a distinguished program at the high school.

Although Drake was not involved with ESU’s newspaper or yearbook and did not make her migration into journalism until early in her professional career, she sees the university as a major influence in her life. She studied Spanish and math, but knew from the beginning of her coursework at ESU that she would enter the teaching field. Her student-teaching phase in Chase County gave her  a smooth transition from her academic to professional career, and she has stayed linked to the city of Emporia and her alma mater. “I enjoy the community, and I still have ties through journalism,” said Drake. Drake cited a former instructor of journalism at ESU, Sally Turner, as a major influence in her career and in some part responsible for the yearbook award. Now, Drake’s involvement with the Kansas Mentors Program allows her to aid new advisors, giving them a network to turn to, something that she considers a “key to success.”

While Drake’s schedule is a perpetual challenge, she has become very efficient in balancing her various roles as teacher, advisor, and mentor. “I’ve learned to be very organized, making each second count,” said Drake. Her enthusiasm for her career is tied to her connection with her students. “It still boils down to the students,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed being a teacher here. I could have retired a couple of years ago, but I had no interest in doing so.” In her journalism and design courses especially, Drake takes pride in her students’ ability to generate a professional product. “I do a lot of teaching at the beginning, but in productive classes, they start to be self-sufficient. They know what they’re supposed to do,” Drake said. “We operate like a business.”

Drake’s national recognition is rewarding in light of her service. “I’m just amazed,” Drake said. “And what excites me most is that I’m the first to be representing a smaller school. It’s time that the smaller schools have this chance to show what we can do. We can put out a quality product.”

- by Dirk Mcbratney (BA 2007, MA 2009)

Last Updated July 29, 2009