Media group publishing 2019-2020 virtual yearbook for all metro Detroit high schoolers

DETROIT (FOX 2) - After the school year was cut short for kids across Michigan, a group of students in Detroit is getting creative to keep their end of the year traditions alive.

Teens in the D Broadcast Media Group are publishing a virtual yearbook for all metro Detroit high schoolers.

"Not having a yearbook as seniors is very troubling to them. They said it served as a second diploma because the yearbooks encapsulated everything they went through," said Kenndall Wallace, a high school junior and contributing editor. 

Teens In the D Broadcast Media Group decided their virtual yearbook project would be a perfect solution, allowing students in southeast Michigan high schools to get the yearbook they deserve.

"Grades 9-12 can email us and we send them a form to talk about their school - give us the contact information and everything about their school - and they can submit three pictures and then we put them in the virtual yearbook," says interim volunteer director Barbara Kellom. 

High school seniors are featured on a full page, and articles about key events like the COVID-19 pandemic will be featured. 

"There's a lot of in-depth planning and development that goes into creating something like this," says Emerson Jeffries, a high school sophomore and contributing editor. 

"It brings everyone together. They can see what other schools are doing, what other students are doing, how they are achieving," Kellom says.  

The virtual yearbook will have many characteristics of a traditional yearbook. There's even a link that will allow people to sign a page.

But there are some bonus features, too, that you won't find in your typical yearbook. When former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama give a virtual commencement speech in June, that video will be part of the virtual yearbook.

Teens In the D hope this virtual yearbook, which is set to be completed in August, will emerge from being a response to a crisis to a new trend.

"It will certainly bridge the gap and bring people together," Jeffries says. 

You can get more information on Teens in the D Broadcast Media Group virtual yearbook online here.