Issue 6-Final

8
Sports & ARts
A FAREWELL TO THE HOURGLASS ’
CREATIVE DIRECTOR MAGGIE SONG ’21
By LAVENDER HUANG ‘22
Maggie Song ‘21 served
as the Creative Director
of The Hourglass for the
2020-2021 school year.
Her journey with The Hourglass began
during her sophomore year when she was
attracted to the creativity of the pages.
In Song’s year as Creative Director,
she took on the myriad responsibilities of
the role with grace, positivity, confidence,
and of course, creativity. She communicated
with editors-in-chief Presley Daggett
‘21 and Ava Olson ‘21 about deadlines and
submissions, helped designers and photographers
find their footing in their Hourglass
pages, and combed through seemingly
endless “final” edits with the co-editors-inchief
all while keeping her team on track.
Anna Wang ‘22, who worked with
Song as a junior creative director this year
and will succeed her as Co-Creative Director
along with Sophie Cai ‘22, admires
Song and appreciates her leadership skills.
“She is an extremely organized
and responsible creative director,
maintaining a steady hold on the
Hourglass design team,” Wang said.
“She managed to make this such an
amazing year for Hourglass despite the
restrictions imposed by the pandemic.”
Navigating the pandemic, indeed,
was not without its challenges. Song realized
that her team suffered from the limited
communication of online meetings and implemented
significant changes to streamline
the design process to organize her team
better while they were working remotely.
Song explained her changes, including
the “issue progress tracker, contact lists, and
presentations to navigate documents and
programs,” as pathways to make “our workflow
more efficient and organized.” Wang
shared sentiments that mirrored Song’s.
“She managed to make this [2020-
2021] the least stressful year [designing
for The Hourglass], and the creative
team is extremely grateful for
Maggie’s leadership,” Wang said.
Along with the structural changes to
the design process, Song truly cares about
the experience of the designers. Wang
describes her as “an involved and understanding
leader,” as Song often checks
in with her designers and photographers
while implementing a mentorship program
for the design team to teach newcomers
essential design skills. Song credits this
to her own experience as a new designer
to The Hourglass herself, which “let me
take note of what I would like changed.”
While she was experienced with Adobe
Photoshop, other design aspects gave
her “quite a steep learning curve.” Song
used her growth trajectory as a designer
to her advantage, citing that it helped her
“empathize with new designers and take on
the role of a teacher.” She hopes to encourage
more aspiring designers to try their
hand at the visual aspect of newspapers.
Song’s artistic prowess made her
an extraordinary creative director.
Her role also entails designing
the front page and centerfold
pages, as these are the most
significant spreads of the paper.
Song is excited by the
“constant challenge for me to
make enticing and sophisticated
designs that are also
unique and relevant.”
“She always
incorporates cool
effects into her
designs, especially
with
her Photoshop
skills,
which
inspires
us to step
out of our
comfort
zone,”
Wang said.
“She’s
extremely
thoughtful by
balancing the
reader’s experience
with the writer’s
intention and creates cohesive
and aesthetic pages.”
Sophie Cai ‘22 agrees, emphasizing
the universal stylistic elements
that Song implemented in the paper.
“The color theme system
gave us a color palette to
use each issue,” Cai said.
“This not only made the
issue consistent and cohesive
but also reduced the designer’s
workload since the
artistic color palette
requires less complicated
designs.”
The colorful
yet minimalist
style
alleviated the
designers’ stress
while ensuring
the spreads
were consistent,
cohesive,
and captivating.
Song
said that
she is “proud
of what I have
accomplished
this year,” and
her pride was
earned through
well-managed spreadsheets,
her unfailing support of team members,
and above all, her creative yet responsible
approach to designing a newspaper.
ATHLETE OF THE MONTH: ANYA MOSTEK ‘22
By AUBYN MACKEY ‘24
Anya Mostek ‘22 is the definition of
a fantastic student-athlete––hardworking
and positive regardless of
the obstacles posed by her busy life. She
swims all year at the Phoenixville area
YMCA, and she’s participated in this sport
since she was five years old. Before deciding
to commit to swimming, Mostek played
field hockey, basketball, and softball.
Her favorite parts about swimming
are the travel and the challenges of such
a competitive sport. She describes her
experience with travel saying, “I’ve been
fortunate enough to be able to compete all
around the country in some very high-level
meets, which has allowed me to meet some
to become the
best I can be. I
love to race.”
very cool
people along
the way.”
Mostek also
said, “My
favorite part
of swimming
is challenging
myself
physically
and mentally
For Mostek,
sports
isn’t just about
commitment
but the attitude
that allows one
to push further.
She has learned
that athletics
is about
the mental mindset for greatness, not
just about physical ability. Mostek
said, “Swimming is mentally tough because
once you achieve one goal, you
immediately move on to the next.”
Despite this challenge, Mostek takes
pride in her bright attitude. “I am most
proud of my ability to maintain a positive
and open mindset throughout the pandemic,
which has allowed me to keep competing
and having fun along the way,” Mostek said.
Mostek’s determination to push past
doubt and fear has played a significant
role in her awe-inspiring achievements.
She has reached incredible success
throughout her career, notably being
a two-time USA Swimming Scholastic
All-American as well as a Summer
Juniors qualifier in the 100 and 200
meter backstroke and 200 meter individual
medley, and a Winter Juniors qualifier
in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle.
Mostek has also recently been accepted
to Harvard University to swim.
When asked about her goals, she said
that she is still continuously trying to improve
even while already being committed
to a swimming program for the future.
“My goal is always to get better. With
swimming, this could mean getting faster,
improving my technique, or bringing
levity to my team. I am still
figuring out what I want to
study in college, but I am pretty
sure it will be health-related.”
Mostek is truly an inspiration
to all student-athletes,
taking steps to succeed in the
pool, her school, and daily
life. With such a competitive
sport, time management and a
strong mindset are just as critical
as the training needed for
greatness. To all those athletes
hoping for excellence, Mostek
has a few words of advice.
“Whatever goal you have,
don’t be afraid to go after it.”
Photos courtesy of Maggie Song ‘21
and Anya Mostek ‘22
Design and graphics by Eliza Bryant ‘24
and Sophie Cai ‘22