Former Chapman student Myra Jenkins, and class of 1984 graduate, tragically lost her belongings when her home was flooded recently. Among the belongings destroyed were her past yearbooks, dating back to 1982.

Jenkins reached out to Chapman yearbook advisor Alex Hollis, asking if he had any yearbooks from her years at Chapman. “When I first told my staff about Ms. Jenkins contacting me, I told them that this is why we do what we do,” Hollis said.

The Panorama staff promptly went on a search to recover her past and was able to find two of the yearbooks Jenkins was featured in. One was from 1982 and the other from her senior year, 1984.

Jenkins stopped by Chapman last week to meet with Hollis and to be reunited with the memories of her high school days.  She greeted the yearbook staff with a smile that beamed of excitement and gratitude for their act of generosity.

Although Chapman does not possess all of her years in books, Jenkins was beyond grateful for what Hollis and the yearbook staff were able to do for her.

“I have already looked back at them and had some fun recalling the friendships of old,” Jenkins said in an email to Hollis. “It is a piece of my past that I had lost, and you gave it back to me, thank you.”

It is for opportunities such as this that make being on staff for Chapman’s yearbook so valuable and rewarding.

“We never know what impact our books are making on people, but we do know that our work is relevant to people, and in many cases, yearbooks are the only formal records of the school’s history in any given year.  Yearbooks matter and this is a real example of how and why,” said Hollis.