Feature Story /// Blair Oaks
Capturing Memories: The Multifaceted Career of Blair Oaks’ Stephanie Brenneke
Story By: Abbie Kemna Photography By: Alyssa Seidel (Blair Oaks Teacher and Brenneke's Former Yearbook Student)
Behind the lessons, assemblies, clubs, and sports are page after page full of student stories, bound together to create a yearbook unique to each school year. And behind all of that lies the dedication of Stephanie Brenneke, an English teacher and yearbook advisor whose passion for education and photography has shaped countless students and preserved an abundance of memories. Brenneke began pursuing her career at Truman State University, where she earned her BA in English and MA in Education. After that, she worked for a program called Upward Bound, taught elementary math and science for a year, and then found her way to teaching high school English and dual-credit courses for a while. Not long after that, she decided to take a leap of faith and move to Aus- tralia to work as a substitute teacher, where she stayed for three years. After broadening her perspective and knowledge abroad, she returned to the U.S. in 2009, landing back at the place where she grew up, Blair Oaks High School. Now in her 23rd year of teaching, she’s not only an English teacher but also the driving force behind the school’s yearbook program.
16 /// January 2025
The passion Brenneke holds for photography originally began at home when she started taking photos of her children, Ethan and Dylan, as they grew up. This interest blossomed into an obsession when she stepped into the role of yearbook advisor and the world of sports photography. “The thrill of getting an amazing action shot is addictive,” she told us. When the Blair Oaks Yearbook started out, all the school had was a point-and-shoot camera. Brenneke trans- formed the program from the jump by fundraising for a digital SLR camera and teaching herself and her students how to use it. Today, armed with a Canon EOS R6 Mark II, Brenneke is driven by the ability to freeze moments of action and emotion in time. “It’s about captur- ing the moments people don’t ever want to forget,” she says. A high school yearbook is much more than a collection of pho-
tos. For Brenneke and her team, it’s a labor of love, dedication, and skill. “I don’t think many people understand the amount of time it takes to create an amazing yearbook. It looks like fun when we are taking photos on the sidelines, and it is, but it’s also like a job. I feel like my yearbook class is a small business,” she explains. Her students take on multiple roles—salespeople, reporters, designers, and editors. This year, they worked to sell over $15,000 in ads to local businesses, which allows them to continually upgrade equip-
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