Overflow, Taylor University’s 2023-2024 yearbook, placed first place first in the 2024 Scholastic Yearbook from the American Scholastic Press Association.
Throughout the states, high schools and colleges submitted yearbooks in the competition, Twiggs said. Yearbooks were judged based on some of the following: creativity, layout and page design, content and photography.
Overflow scored the highest overall, receiving 30 out of 30 points on creativity.
“The Ilium staff is dedicated to excellence in representing the university, and this award is well deserved,” Donna Downs, associate professor of communication and yearbook advisor, said, according to the Taylor University press release.
Collins said Romans 15:13 inspired the title Overflow:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (NIV).
“We were trying to think of a word to encapsulate Taylor University from 2023 to 2024,” Collins said. “And it's hard to predict the future. But we could see that this year was going to have a lot of just growth and outreach.”
They saw and heard future predictions of Taylor’s growth, Twiggs said. Yet throughout the year, they felt affirmed in the theme they chose as more campaigns, groundbreakings and fundraisers took place.
During a chapel, Taylor President Michael Lindsay said other Christian colleges are declining in attendance. Collins and Twiggs both saw the Lord’s hand on Taylor’s campus.
“Taylor is such an amazing place to be,” Twiggs said. “So we really just wanted to encapsulate that in one word, and we felt like overflow was really it. Scripturally, God was making Taylor's cup overflow — and there were just so many perfect examples of that throughout the year.”
Originally, Collins and Twiggs did not feel qualified to lead the yearbook team.
Some days they barely left the office, working late nights. One week, they solely focused on the designing aspect and forgot about writing. The following week, they would try to get back on schedule.
Twiggs said they probably had 30 to 40 hour work weeks during Fall 2023.
All of the team members did their own work each week. Collins and Twiggs then reviewed, approved and created new assignments — then edited those assignments. Balancing all of it at once was a struggle, Twiggs said.
Through the production process of Overflow, Twiggs honed her skills in designing, photography and writing.
Collins said she learned a lot about leadership.
“If you feel under qualified for a leadership role, that doesn't mean you can't do it,” Collins said.
She said feeling under qualified impacted how she depended on the Lord. She leaned on him for confidence and energy.
Collins and Twiggs agreed without each other they could not have received first place. Twiggs said they balanced one another as Collins kept the team on schedule and Twiggs aspired for perfection.
Having never worked on Taylor’s yearbooks before, Collins and Twiggs led the team to win, Downs said, according to the Taylor University press release.
To any reader, Collins and Twiggs had one message:
“Sign. Up,” Twiggs said. “... We’re hiring next year. You can be in any department; you get media credit; it's a paid role — it's really great — we're just like a little family. And it's honestly such an amazing team.”
Students can contact Twiggs to join the Ilium at: alexa_twiggs@taylor.edu
