PEAN Turnovers
By: Selim Kim, Emi Levine
The new Phillips Exeter Academy Notebook (PEAN) board was appointed on April 16. Uppers and Editors-in-Chief (EICs) Teja Vankireddy, Avery Lavine and Danielle Sung will lead PEAN for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year. EICs selected the rest of the Senior Board jointly with the former EICs, Sophie Liu, Meredith Thomas and Rachael Kim of the previous Board.
Due to unexpected struggles in collecting photo content due to COVID safety protocols, among other challenges, Vankireddy noted that she had to modify most of her original visions to accommodate the current circumstances at the Academy. “We're just getting started on the spring supplement and that will be following the same theme that we're using for this year's big book,” Vankireddy said. “I think that we really want to focus on highlighting the schools’ recovery from the pandemic. We want to start highlighting the different people who made our return to campus possible even during these times.”
Sung also mentioned that PEAN will focus on a more active presence over Zoom in hopes to create a greater sense of community. “I think one of the biggest obstacles we had to face was in Zoom meetings because we couldn’t have any in-person meetings that really bonded the associates, the senior board and the EICs together,” Sung said. “I really want to reinforce the bond between the associate and the senior board as EIC’s next year. I suggested that everyone turn on their cameras or unmute themselves in the meetings. Hopefully, we can have in person meetings as well because that's the best way to have people bond with each other.”
Lavine had similar thoughts. “The goal is to try to get the board as cohesive as possible and working together well, it's been kind of difficult this past year, so I think we're just hoping for a really good board dynamic. Hopefully everyone will work together well and we will get a strong book that way,” Lavine said.
Sung hoped to gain more club members during her tenure. “I want to revitalize the group and make sure that people gain more interest in being part of PEAN. Our ultimate goal is to make a book that includes all the events from that year for people to be able to look back on for many years to come,” Sung said.
When deciding the new PEAN board, Liu explained that the former EICs also significantly weighed candidates’ commitment to PEAN. “We were looking for people who have been with PEAN for a long time or who have had experience. Being an EIC takes a lot of work on their part because they're leading an entire team. So we made sure to choose people who would be good leaders,” Liu said. “The three members who were chosen were actually on the board last year, working as editors for the different sections.”
Thomas noted the importance of club unity for the growth of PEAN. “Something that [Vankireddy, Lavine and Sung] all touched on in their interviews that I really appreciated was the idea of club unity,” Thomas said. “Communication is also really important for structure and for hitting meeting deadlines. So I think that's one thing they all touched on and I'm excited to see what where they bring the club.”
Thomas also acknowledged the skill and expertise that each new EIC would be able to contribute. “The new EICs have all been very strong members of PEAN for the past couple of years. They were all a part of the different sections of the senior board, and were three of the most responsive members of the board. The three of them will each bring different strengths to their leadership because of their expertise in different sections,” Thomas said.
Senior Pages Editor Jesaline Phan expressed enthusiasm for the growth of PEAN as the pandemic improves. “We've had an unorthodox year to say the least, but through it all, we've stayed connected as a community whether it be over a zoom screen or six feet apart,” Phan said. “I'm hoping to recruit more members to be part of our PEAN community, so we can accomplish even more. I hope that as we move towards more vaccinations, we will be able to reach farther as a team. This year, it was tough to incorporate new members since a lot of the learning is usually done together as a group in the PEAN office, so I'm hoping to renew that as well.”
Advertisement Editor Sheala Iacobucci shared her goals for the board’s tenure. “I hope PEAN serves as a fun and memorable token of the community next year. This year was tough, as there were less opportunities for the community to gather together and for us to document it,” Iacobucci said. “Hopefully next year there will be less restrictions and we will be able to fully appreciate and take advantage of the time and resources we have.”
Phan explained PEAN’s impact on students at Academy. “There is just something special about opening a PEAN, an album of memories with its new printing smell and crisp pages,” Phan said. “It feels nostalgic to have something physical to remember these high school years and I hope that PEAN continues to capture those in the best ways possible.”
Sung is enthusiastic for her upcoming tenure. “I'm excited to be an EIC because I've been wanting this since middle school. I'm really glad I'm going to be working with Avery and Teja for the next year, making the spring supplement. We are going to make a Big Book that I hope will be really special. We are going to put a lot of thought and effort into it,” Sung said.
Vankireddy reflected on the significance of PEAN for the Exeter community. “I think that PEAN plays a super important role, maybe not as much while people are at Exeter, but after you graduate. You want to have something that you can look back on and I think having a physical copy of that is really special,” Vankireddy said. “I think the goal of any yearbook really is to just help us remember our time here. I always want to keep that goal and I want to make sure that everybody's time here is memorialized as personally and as detailed as possible.”