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Don Matis Jr. looks to the skies on April 21. Matis has a notable purple beard, a color he maintains by dyeing it several times a week. (Christiana Cacciato / Signal Akron)
What’s the thread that links the images Signal Akron’s staff selected for our Photos of the Year?
It’s that the photographs capture the experiences, the joys and the tragedies, the best and the worst of the lives of our readers and neighbors. They show moments of celebration and grief, awe and reflection — the full emotional range of a city living its life.
That’s what photojournalism does – it takes you into the everyday experiences of those who live in our city and the events that impact their lives.
Take the image of Breaon Brady, dean of students at Middlebury Academy, dribbling a basketball during the school’s first-day celebration. Photographer Ryan Loew caught the moment just before Brady unleashed a crossover dribble that left his fourth-grade defender, Gus Tell, reaching.
It’s an honor and a privilege to be a witness to these moments, something we recognize and value across our newsroom as we report, with words and visuals.
Browse through this visual collection for a recap of 2025.
Wingfoot One, the Akron-based airship, the Florida-based Wingfoot Two and the California-based Wingfoot Three fly over the Civic Theatre in downtown Akron during Mayor Shammas Malik’s State of the City address June 3. Wingfoot One is decked out in the same black and gray color scheme as Pilgrim, Goodyear’s first blimp, which celebrated its 100th anniversary today. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)Catherine Mills, 2, holds Pride flags alongside mom Zarah Mills and dad Andrew Mills while watching the 2025 Akron Pride Festival Equity March on Saturday, Aug. 23. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)Alex Kirchner, a seasonal conservationist with the Summit Soil and Water Conservation District, evaluates the physical makeup of a creek in the Yellow Creek Watershed in Bath Township on Tuesday, July 22. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)Brylee Clancy-Sommerville, 13, with the South Rangers cheer group, participates in the East Akron Labor Day parade on Monday, Sept. 1. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)Middlebury Academy Dean of Students Breaon Brady plays a bit of basketball with fourth grader Gus Tell as students wait to enter their building on the first day of school on Thursday, Aug. 21. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)Phil Montgomery, center, celebrates good news on Election Day Nov. 4 as he watches results for the Akron school board race. At left is his mom, Phyllis Montgomery, Akron Education Association President Pat Shipe at right and AEA Vice President Michael Harkness, far right. Montgomery was the top vote earner in more than 60% of Akron precincts and dominated the precincts with the best voter turnout.(Christiana Cacciato / Signal Akron).John Taylor of Akron, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, waves a flag as he stands in the middle of West Market Street across from Hardesty Park in Akron’s Wallhaven neighborhood. Taylor said he was out “for veterans,” during a HANDSOff! protest Saturday. About a thousand people gathered — other protests in the area included Cleveland, Cuyahoga Falls, Medina, Chagrin Falls, Avon Lake, Strongsville, Kent, Ravenna and Oberlin. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)Matthew Roberts of East Akron dances with Akron’s Second Line Procession during the city’s bicentennial parade. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)Tameka Thornton helps fold laundry at the West Side Laundromat in West Akron during a Tumble Together event on Thursday, Aug. 14. Tumble Together is a semi-regular event sponsored by the City of Akron and community partners where residents can do laundry for free. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)A civil rights march in sympathy with the march on Selma heads north on South Main Street near the corner of Exchange Street in Akron. The old B. F. Goodrich sign is visible in the background at center left. The photo is part of a collection that spans 40 years of Black life in Akron documented by Horace and Evelyn Stewart, a husband and wife who owned Stewart’s Photo Studio at 11 1/2 N. Howard St. The collection, housed at the University of Akron’s Archives and Special Collections department, is to be digitized by the University of Akron using grant money from The Council of Library and Information Resources. (Photographs used with permission from the Horace and Evelyn Stewart Photographs at The University of Akron Archives and Special Collections)An Aztec dancer’s elaborate headdress is on display at Akron’s Latin Festival, Raíces, Ritmos & Recuerdos. (Michael Francis McElroy / Signal Akron)Madison Epps (Peter Pan) and Adalyn Zorich (Captian Hook) rehearse for Ballet Excel’s upcoming performance of “Peter Pan.” Credit: (Michael Mcelroy / Signal Akron)Singers with the Deliverance Mass Choir in the balcony of the First Congregational Church of Akron during the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Day Coalition Sunday at First Congregational Church of Akron. (Doug Brown / Signal Akron)Wednesday the cat, who lives at Dirty River Bicycle Works. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Rendrick)Protesters carrying a banner that says “Just let trans kids be TRANS” march north on South Main Street in downtown Akron as they protest a number of issues such as deportation of immigrants and Palestinian rights. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)Bryce Harris, a counselor at Helen Arnold Community Learning Center and former offensive lineman at the University of Toledo, poses for a selfie with students participating in the Breakfast Club, a program which incentivizes students to be punctual for school. (Kevin Dilley / Signal Akron)A runner progresses along East Mill Street during the 2025 Akron Marathon, Half Marathon and Team Relay races. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)The silos of the Quaker Oats Cereal Factory, shot looking north from the parking lot across the street on Bowery, shows vintage cars from the early 1970s. Eventually, the silos were converted into round hotel rooms. (Photos from survey HAER OH-17 via the Library of Congress)Jose Manuel Fermin Paredes (left) and his wife Miranda Ross, hold their twin 1-month-old children Julian Ross (left) and Melissa Ross (right) before the start of a naturalization ceremony at the main branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library on Monday, Dec. 8. Fermin Paredes, originally from the Dominican Republic, became a U.S. citizen during Monday’s ceremony, along with his daughter Yanderis Fermin Mejia, who automatically gained citizenship. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)Heidi Hall of Massillon waves an American flag as she is silhouetted by a truck driving by on West Waterloo Road in Akron during a protest Tuesday. Hall was across the street from the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic. Hall said she came in support of veterans in general, and that “they offered to give up their lives to protect our country. I don’t think we should be screwing them over” by cutting services to them, she said. The protest was sponsored by American Federation of Government Employees Local 31. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)Akron Public Schools 5th graders play recorders and follow along to the Akron Symphony Orchestra at the Akron Civic Theatre on March 19. APS students were part of the Link Up program through Carnegie Hall, which provides students with an interactive introduction to the orchestra. (Christiana Cacciato / Signal Akron)Fran Wilson, the successful candidate for Akron’s Ward 1 City Council seat, greets Ben Bisbee and Joe Takacs as they drive into the parking lot at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on West Market Street in Akron. Bisbee and Takacs were headed inside the church to vote in Tuesday’s May 6 primary election. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)Ann’niyha Wilson, 17, a cousin to Jazmir Tucker, demonstrates on South High Street near the Summit County Courthouse on Thursday, Oct. 2, after a grand jury determined Akron police officer Davon Fields will not face criminal charges for the November 2024 killing of 15-year-old Jazmir Tucker. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)A Mini Cooper with a Christmas tree and a moving train was one of the many colorful sights along South Main Street during Akron’s Illuminated Holiday Parade on the first day of Winterblast downtown. The city kicked off its 21st season with the annual parade, ice skating, a holiday market and more. (Michael Francis McElroy / Signal Akron)A photo that is part of the investigatory files released by the Ohio Attorney General’s office shows the Aero Precision X-15 rifle used by Akron Police Officer Davon Fields when he shot Jazmir Tucker. (Photo courtesy of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office)Kent Quade demonstrates in support of Palestine as scores of demonstrators take in a No Kings rally in downtown Akron on Saturday, Oct. 18. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)Excavators from Butcher & Son work to tear down the old Kenmore High School in May 2025 to make way for the proposed Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts, which will be combined with Pfeiffer Elementary. (Michael Francis McElroy / Signal Akron)Cordelia chef Vinnie Cimino runs out a customer order on June 1 at the Swensons original location in Akron on South Hawkins Avenue. During the month of June, all Swensons locations will carry two of his collaborative menu items. (Christiana Cacciato / Signal Akron)Jada Walker tears up while talking about her brother, Jayland Walker, during a Justice for Jayland memorial event at Hardesty Park in Akron’s Wallhaven neighborhood. June 27, 2025 is the third anniversary of Jayland Walker’s killing by Akron police officers. (Doug Brown / Signal Akron) A guitarist for the band Talk Less plays during their set at PorchRokr 2025 in Highland Square. The band was on the front porch of the Wendell L. Willkie American Legion Hall, Post 19, on West Market Street. (Michael Francis McElroy / Signal Akron)An image from an appraiser’s report shows the damage to the interior of the Martin Center at the University of Akron.Dressed in dinosaur costumes, Patty Petit (left) and her husband Mike Petit cheer on runners during the 2025 Akron Marathon Race Series. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)A historical photo shows members of the Negro 25 Year Club posing with a memorial plaque to John Brown they presented to the public in 1938. The plaque was part of an update to the memorial that included benches. The photo was part of a display of historical information at the rededication of the John Brown Monument at the Akron Zoo on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of the Dr. Shirla R. McClain Gallery of Akron’s Black History at the University of Akron Archives and Special Collections)Efrem Frazier, Jazmir Tucker’s great uncle, wipes tears from his eyes at a news conference on Tuesday, Nov. 25, regarding a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Tucker’s mother, Ashley Green. Green claimed her son’s killing by Akron Police Officer Davon Fields was unconstitutional and made possible by systemic misconduct and racial bias upheld by the Akron Police Department and City of Akron leaders. (Ryan Loew / Signal Akron)
Culture and Arts Reporter (she/her)
Kelsei centers arts and culture, food and identity in her storytelling. She uses her professional experience and editorial skills to focus a community-first mindset and a strategic approach to her reporting. Kelsei’s previous reporting experiences include food, community and culture coverage at 225 Magazine in her hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Kelsei is a recent alumna of Northwestern University and a 2023 graduate of Jackson State University.
