The Mountain Echo will be traveling to New York City this March to receive their Crown award. The Mountain Echo Newspaper was nominated for a Gold or Silver Crown by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA). Crown Awards are the highest recognition given by the CSPA to a student print or digital medium for overall excellence.

The CSPA goal is to unite student journalists and faculty advisers at schools through educational conferences, idea exchanges, textbooks, critiques and award programs.

The Gold or Silver Crown will be awarded at Columbia Scholastic Press Association spring convention March 17.

“It feels really good to be nominated because this year I am running the newspaper, so it feels extremely special and makes me happy to see the work I and the rest of the staff have been putting in has paid off,” Editor in Chief Cassidy Klock said.

A panel of Crown Judges assembles each year at Columbia University to view newspapers, magazines, yearbooks or online media.

“I’ve been hoping to go since my freshman year. Unfortunately, my freshman year was the start of the pandemic, so I was never able to do it before. I have already figured out my roommate, that’s how excited I am,” Klock said.

Both Gold Crown and Silver Crown Awards are given each year. The Mountain Echo received a Silver Crown last year.

“It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t go to receive it in person, but we had a staff party with food and things like that while we waited for the announcement of what Crown we won,” Klock said.

The judges are former advisers to student media, professional journalists or professional photographers or online specialists.

“When I leave, I want to watch the publication continue to grow bigger and bigger each year, so there are more opportunities like this that can come out of that,” Klock said.

The Gold crown awards were first presented in 1982 and Silver Crown Awards were added in 1984.

“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to go to New York and get to experience the ceremony with the newspaper staff,” associate editor Jaidyn Palladini said.

All publications are judged based on design, photography, concept, coverage and writing.

“I think it’ll give them [the staff] that boost they need to get the writing skills that they always wanted to have and better the paper,” Palladini said.

Some of the staff are proud of their own and their fellow staff members for being nominated to get a crown in the spring.

“I feel very proud of the staff for this accomplishment. This is a very important award, and I have wanted to get it ever since I was on a newspaper staff in junior high. The trip to New York seems very exciting, so I’m proud of the staff for earning the ability to go there,” associate editor Allison Little said.