Welcome to ‘strug city’

Strug City: Land of the struggling

City Population: One

Demographic: One, crazy senior girl. 

Senior Jennie Werner is the sole inhabitant of self-proclaimed “Strug City,” so-named because she — the editor-in-chief of the Yearbook, the captain of the field hockey and lacrosse teams, WASC student representative, member of school leadership and senior class secretary — struggles at life. 

Dark blonde with a streak of light-hearted crazy, Werner is often seen prancing through her various abodes on campus, noisily and noticeably. She is, however, notorious for making comedic mistakes — so frequently that last year, sophomore Talia Clement (a close friend of Werner’s) started compiling a list of “#jennieproblems,” documenting Werner’s various mishaps in a weekly email.

Her “jennieproblems” often accompany activities in which she excels, and she has a leadership position in almost every activity on campus, whether in sports, publications or student government. 

“I feel like sometimes I’m too outgoing for my own good,” she said. “I’m not afraid to fail so I just go for it.”

Her overabundance of energy can get her into trouble. A competitor-at-heart, Werner is known for getting into aggressive (albeit non violent) confrontations during sporting events. “Jennieproblem” of May 4, 2012, reads: “Jennie spends more time on the ground than on her feet during lacrosse games.”

Werner, who plays center on the lacrosse team, said, “I love athletic competition, but no I have never gotten in a fight.”

She then proceeded to give the account of how, in a lacrosse game her sophomore year against Leland, she and another girl were running up the field when both of them “tripped.” Mysteriously, their feet tangled and neither of the two could get off the ground — both ended up with yellow cards for bad sportsmanship. 

“But then later on she got a second yellow card and was sent off for the rest of the game,” Werner said. “Woot.”

Werner is also somewhat of an English nerd. She is a spirited debater and loves the language, yet Werner cannot spell for the life of her. In her English 11 Honors class last year, Werner gained a reputation for mispronunciation. “AY-Ahgo,” Werner had said throughout the year, when mentioning the villain of Othello, Iago (pronounced “EE-ahgo”). 

“I internally cringed every time,” said senior Lauren Lin, co-editor of the Yearbook. “Every time I heard ‘EYE-AGO’ a piece of my soul died.”

While her “jennieproblems” in English might seem like they would hinder her abilities in journalism, Werner has nevertheless ascended to the highest position in yearbook, of which she is co-editor-in-chief. Her leadership style hinges on a healthy combination of rigidity and enthusiasm, and her constituents seem to adore her.

“[Of the three editors of the Yearbook] she’s my favorite,” senior Risha Shah said. “She’s extremely dedicated and good at what she does.”

Described as a “ninja” by her victim, Werner is notorious in the journalism program as the only one who has ever acquired a “SWT,” or the legendary Selfie With Tyler, named for journalism adviser Mike Tyler’s camera shy nature. 

“She just fools me, she’s like, she gets me to do things that I don’t even know I’m doing,” Tyler said, in exasperated confusion. “And suddenly I’m in a selfie and being liked by 500 people on Facebook, and I didn’t even know what was happening.”

Later that day, Werner revisited the topic while Tyler was present. 

“I really want Mr. Tyler to photobomb with me,” Werner said.

“Oh I just realized I have a meeting,” Tyler said. “I gotta get out of here.”

Werner’s obsession for yearbook often takes precedent over her other activities, including school. She spends her afternoons in the journalism room, poring over spreads and discussing ideas with her fellow editors Lin and senior Jason Li. 

“YBK is life,” said Werner, using her shorthand notation for Yearbook. “I love the satisfaction of creating content that’s not only interesting but visually appealing. There’s nothing more thrilling than finishing a spread in the dark journalism after four hours alone, running on a bag of stale pretzels.”

“When you walk outside the lights are blinding and it kinda gives you a dizzy headache,” she said as she starts pounding the table emphatically. “But it’s so satisfying to know that your work is done and your spread is beautiful — there’s nothing better.”

This year, Werner has a multitude of plans for the the Talisman. While burdened with a staff low on returning members — 20 seniors graduated last year — Werner has several reforms for the book: an emphasis on organization and alternative coverage. 

“In the past we’ve had traditional stories but we know most students don’t read them,” Werner said. “One of our goals is to make the actual text shorter and more readable — more Q&A’s, flow charts and first person anecdotes.”

Werner’s goals for this year aim high, and if anything, she expects more late nights and dinners in the Journalism room. 

“Every year Mr. Tyler [holding up that year’s book] says ‘This is Saratoga’s best yearbook,’” Werner said. “[My goal] is to have Mr. Tyler hold up our yearbook — even years from now — and say, ‘This is The Best Yearbook.”’