For the fourth time in seven years, the Echo newspaper is a Pacemaker finalist, an honor given to student publications by the National Scholastic Press Association.

In addition to the Pacemaker finalist award as a whole, Carolyn Guddal and Carter Green received individual nominations for design of the year, and Conner Wickland received a certificate of merit for photo illustration.

The Echo adviser, Lori Keekley said the Pacemaker is one of two prestigious awards, which are given to student publications nationally.

Staff of professional publications  judged this year’s contest and will select the winners in November at the Journalism Education Association/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Washington, D.C.

Keekley said she attributes making the finalist list to the coverage of some difficult topics last year.

“The content last year was really good. The staff covered some of the hard topics that we had and even talked about how we’re persevering through this. I think this is a big reason why we won this award,” Keekley said.

Last year’s Editor in Chief, Gabe Bichinho, said being a Pacemaker finalist accurately represents the dedication of the 2012-14 Echo staff.

“I think a reason we are finalists is because of the coverage; we had a lot of tough stories second semester. It’s also indicative of the time and effort put in by all the staffers day in and day out to make the Echo the best it can be,” BIchinho said.

Senior and Echo staffer Brita Hunegs said she is happy the publication received this honor.

“This award is a representation of how hard we worked last year,” Hunegs said. Even though awards aren’t the point of what we do in Echo, it’s a nice validation of how much time and effort we put in to make it as successful as it is.”

While she said she is proud of the staff, Keekley said being a finalist is just a cherry on top.

“I never start the year thinking ‘we want to win awards.’ I start the year saying ‘we need to cover our student body,’” Keekley said. “If we win them, that’s great. If we don’t, that’s fine too. But, our number one goal is to be the voice of the student body and the staff at the high school.”