In March, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association announced the results of last year’s Silver and Gold Crown Awards in student magazines. Among the recipients was Greenhill’s 2021 edition of Montage, themed “Possibility.”

The Gold Crown is the highest symbol of recognition awarded to print and digital content created by students. CSPA reviews thousands of student work across the globe and awards a Gold Crown to those that exhibit excellence on an international level.

In order to win a Gold Crown, a student publication must earn outstanding scores upon an evaluation of content, design or presentation, coverage, photography, writing and editing.

Since 1996, under the tutelage of Faculty Advisor Lesley Rucker, Montage has won 10 Gold Crown awards and numerous Silver Crown awards.

“The amazing creative talent of our student body produces truly remarkable writing and visual art each year,” Rucker said.

Montage is a compilation of literary and artistic works from Greenhill students. The role of a staff member includes reviewing works, designing the layout of the magazine, and creating meaningful illustrations to accompany the work.

Last year’s Editor in Chief, Sheena Kwon ’21, designed both the front and back covers, which were meant to embody the theme of “Possibility.”

“I hope that each edition is different and that whoever is leading it each year will have a different creative vision for it,” said Kwon.

The challenge last year in producing “Possibility” was the hybrid format of the class. Kwon herself was online until the middle of the second semester, which meant that the whole process was going to be a lot slower than usual with some people working from home and some in the classroom.

Designing Montage transitioned from the computers in the Studio Art room to personal laptops and shared files.

“With Montage, we’re really proud of what we do, and a lot of it is behind the scenes,” said 2022 Editor in Chief Julian Iwasko.

Iwasko says that the challenge pushed the group to be even more diligent in their work. The team spent hours perfecting the edition to come up with a product good enough to earn a Gold Crown.

“I just want in the future to look back and see all the different editions that came after last year and see how different and unique they are,” said Kwon. “That would make me really happy to see.”