In our first full year of existence, Signal Akron reporters spread out across the city to cover important stories that affected the community. It was a year that started with the inauguration of Mayor Shammas Malik and ended with the shooting death of 15-year-old Jazmir Tucker by Akron Police.

In a photo from the first day of school at Helen Arnold Community Learning Center, Multimedia Reporter and Producer Kassi Filkins captured a smiling Lalaiyah Gray as she clapped hands with teachers. 

Editor-in-Chief Susan Zake photographed a solemn Amir Tucker at a balloon launch in remembrance of his twin brother, Jazmir. Wearing a black hoodie and black face mask, Tucker leans into his mother, Ashley Green, and rests his head on hers.

The following photos, in no particular order, were selected by the Signal Akron staff not because they are part of our most popular stories — although some are — but for what they represent. Moments of celebration, grief, awe and reflection.

Debutantes waltz with their presenters.
Debutantes are a blur of movement as they waltz with their presenters at the 40th annual Les Belles Perles Cotillion Saturday at Quaker Station downtown. Credit: (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Collections Technician Katrina Neff looks at a globe that was in the master bedroom of the manor house at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens.
Collections Technician Katrina Neff looks at a globe that was in the master bedroom of the manor house at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, in Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
Tierra Trammer of Parma enjoys ribs from Malloy’s BBQ.
Tierra Trammer of Parma enjoys ribs from Malloy’s BBQ during the first day of the Rib, White, and Blue Festival Wednesday in downtown Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
A river of water cascades down West Market Street in Akron.
A river of water cascades down West Market Street in Akron at the intersection of Rhodes Avenue around 8 p.m. Thursday. Flash flooding stranded cars across the region as up to 5 inches of rain fell through the evening. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Members of Collage, a color guard, spin rainbow-colored flags.
Members of Collage, a color guard, spin rainbow-colored flags as they march north on South Main Street in downtown Akron to kick off the 2024 Akron Pride Festival. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Dierra Fields stands outside the Akron Municipal Court.
Dierra Fields stands outside the Akron Municipal Court in March after she rejected a plea deal in a resisting arrest case. After Fields rejected the plea, prosecutors tacked on a charge of obstructing official business. Her attorney, Imokhai Okolo,
said prosecutors had previously agreed to drop the case against Fields if she agreed not to sue, “which is unethical, in my opinion.”
Credit: (Doug Brown / Signal Akron)
Northern Cheyenne nation member Kaylanah Strange Owl performs a butterfly dance.
Kaylanah Strange Owl, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, performs a butterfly dance at the John Brown House, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024.
Amir Tucker, center, is surrounded by family and friends at a balloon launch to remember his twin brother Jazmir.
Amir Tucker, center, leans his head against his mother, Ashley Green, as they are surrounded by family and friends at a balloon launch to remember his twin brother Jazmir, 15, who was shot and killed by an Akron police officer Thanksgiving evening. About 100 people gathered Sunday in front of Miller South School for Visual and Performing Arts on East Avenue, near where Jazmir was killed, to pay their respects and support his family. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Amir Tucker, Jazmir Tucker's twin brother
Amir Tucker, the twin brother of Jazmir Tucker, the 15-year-old who was shot and killed by an Akron police officer Thanksgiving evening, sits on the end of the first row of mourners at The Remedy Church during Jazmir’s funeral. (Doug Brown / Signal Akron)
Ashley August of Chicago and her dad, Tom, look to see how Ashley's daughter SoSo finished.
Ashley August of Chicago and her dad, Tom, look to see how Ashley’s daughter SoSo finished in her second heat in the the Local Stock class at the 86th annual FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby Saturday. SoSo won her heat, guaranteeing at least a top-9 finish overall. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik, left, smiles after taking the oath of office at 12:01 a.m. Monday. His girlfriend, Alice Duey, center, laughts in celebration.
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik, left, smiles after taking the oath of office at 12:01 a.m. Monday. His girlfriend, Alice Duey, center, laughts in celebration as J. Bret Treier, partner in the Akron law office of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP looks on. Treier administered the oath of office to the new mayor in Akron City Council chambers. Invited guests for the ceremony included members of his transition team, incoming members of his cabinet and family and friends. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
(Left to right) Michael Madden, and his mom, Joanne, along with his niece, Stephanie Comstock, her husband, Andrew, and their son, William, celebrate as the eclipse.
(Left to right) Michael Madden, and his mom, Joanne, along with his niece, Stephanie Comstock, her husband, Andrew, and their son, William, celebrate as the eclipse enters the totality phase at Prentiss Park in Akron. The Maddens live in Atwater, and the Comstocks came from Maryland. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Darlene Schuler and Dreama Whitfield hold a 'Yes' on Issue 27 sign at the Akron Public Schools' levy watch party.
Darlene Schuler and Dreama Whitfield hold a ‘Yes’ on Issue 27 sign at the Akron Public Schools’ levy watch party on Nov. 5, 2024. (Christiana Cacciato / Signal Akron)
Payton Romano, 28, of Stow, holds up her bib number while crossing the finish line on the back of Cheyenne McGowan, 29, of Burton
Payton Romano, 28, of Stow, holds up her bib number while crossing the finish line of the Akron Marathon on the back of Cheyenne McGowan, 29, of Burton. (Doug Brown / Signal Akron)
Stephanie Cook leans on the side of her van – which would not unlock.
Stephanie Cook leans on the side of her van – which would not unlock – in the parking lot of Weathervane Playhouse Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. Cook’s van suffered severe water damage during Thursday night’s flash flooding event. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
Carla Chapman, chief diversity officer for Akron Public Schools, hands informational flyers to voters
Carla Chapman, chief diversity officer for Akron Public Schools, hands informational flyers to voters as they arrive at the Summit County Board of Elections Early Vote Center Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Akron. Chapman was out with APS Board of Education members encouraging voters to vote yes on Issue 27, the. Akron Public Schools’ levy. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
Chris Gonzales plays with his four-month-old son, Enzo.
Chris Gonzales plays with his four-month-old son, Enzo, in their living room Monday, May 13, 2024, in Cuyahoga Falls. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
Third-grader Lalaiyah Gray at first day of school in Akron Public Schools.
Third-grader Lalaiyah Gray smiles as she is clapped-in Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, on the first day of school at Helen Arnold Community Learning Center. To the left of the frame is Valerie Stewart, music teacher, and Erin Murphy, a long-term substitute gym teacher. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
Akron artist Woodrow Nash sits for a portrait with the completed Sojourner Truth statue
Akron artist Woodrow Nash sits for a portrait with the completed Sojourner Truth statue he designed to be part of the Sojourner Truth Legacy Plaza. The plaza is outside of the United Way of Summit County in Akron, and will be unveiled in late May. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
Malachi Nurse washes some of the windows inside the Lawton Street Community Center during the Youth Day of Action, part of the local Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance, where young volunteers helped clean up at sites across Akron. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Malachi Nurse washes some of the windows inside the Lawton Street Community Center during the Youth Day of Action, part of the local Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance, where young volunteers helped clean up at sites across Akron. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Colorful streaks from the Northern Lights fill the sky.
Colorful streaks from the Northern Lights fill the sky around 10:30 p.m. Friday, May 10, 2024. Photographed looking north across the golf course at the Portage Country Club in Akron. Credit: (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
yle Scelza stops briefly on the last significant hill on West Market Street near the Akron Family Restaurant.
Kyle Scelza stops briefly on the last significant hill on West Market Street near the Akron Family Restaurant in West Hill. Scelza kept going and finished the Akron Marathon with a time of 3:35:00. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Darnella Cummings, left, gives her sister, Lynne Likely, a hug during the East Akron Labor Day Parade.
Darnella Cummings, left, gives her sister, Lynne Likely, a hug during the East Akron Labor Day Parade Monday. The neighborhood parade, which began in 1972, went from 7th Avenue to Concord Avenue. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)
Traci Person, who organized a “Light Up the Streets for Justice” event held at St. Ashworth Temple Church of God in Christ.
Traci Person, who organized a “Light Up the Streets for Justice” event held at St. Ashworth Temple Church of God in Christ on Vernon Odom Boulevard. The gathering was a remembance of Jayland Walker, who was killed two years by Akron police. (Susan Zake / Signal Akron)

Culture & Arts Reporter (she/her)
Brittany is an accomplished journalist who’s passionate about the arts, civic engagement and great storytelling. She has more than a decade of experience covering culture and arts, both in Ohio and nationally. She previously served as the associate editor of Columbus Monthly, where she wrote community-focused stories about Central Ohio’s movers and shakers. A lifelong Ohioan, she grew up in Springfield and graduated from Kent State University.