BOLD is by students and for students. As Branches’ first-ever student magazine, it provides our children and youth with the incredible opportunity to cultivate and share their stories. Each semester, students get the chance to explore their love of writing, photography, and design as they work together to create something uniquely theirs.

Our student writers are challenged to think outside the box and pitch their own stories, which has lead to analyses of their favorite video games, whimsical comics, and candid advice columns. Depending on the story they choose to pursue, writers also get the chance to interview their teachers. Then, our student editors, who have applied and been chosen to lead a team of writers, review their peers’ work and offer constructive criticism.

Our student photography team works together to tell their story through pictures. In our last issue, they showed readers what “A Day in the Life of a Branches Student” looks like, using GoPros to document their daily routine. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the photography team is the fact that students who love to take pictures on their phones are finally taught how to handle a camera like a professional.

Our student designers are given space in the magazine to showcase their artwork. Members of this team are generally paired with writers in order to help bring their characters to life. But they also have the opportunity to collaborate with our Creative Director, helping shape the overall look and feel of the magazine.

After each team member has lent their talents to the production, their hard work is rewarded with a copy of BOLD to be shared with family, friends, and teachers, and to be cherished for years as a sign of something they may have never thought possible. Altogether, BOLD opens new doors for our students, educating them about unfamiliar and exciting careers in the arts, showing them how to work as part of a team, and giving them creative space to sharpen their skills.