When senior Abby Intveld found out the Echo was awarded one of 30 hybrid category Silver Crowns by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, she said it is nice to have the staff’s hard work acknowledged.

“People don’t really know how hard the staff works and how trying it is to get print out and to publish online everyday, it is nice that (the Silver Crown) can showcase that,” Intveld said.

According the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, 20 schools in the hybrid category were awarded Gold Crowns and 30 schools in the hybrid category were awarded Silver Crowns. The Echo is judged in the hybrid category, meaning the judges take into consideration both print and web content, according to Echo adviser Lori Keekley.

According to Keekley, the staff doesn’t focus on awards, rather the awards are a nice bonus.

“(The Echo) doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on awards, instead we put emphasis on trying to do our jobs and trying to do them well. If we get awards that’s great, they are wonderful things, great accolades to what (the Echo) does, great for resumes and college applications, but it’s not the focus of what we do,” Keekley said.

Intveld said although awards are not the goal of Echo, she thinks everyone on staff should be honored to receive such an award.

“We don’t do it for the awards, but I think everyone on staff should be proud that they are on such a wide renowned newspaper,” Intveld said. “Student journalists don’t always get the recognition that they deserve, and it is awards like this that prove we are journalists and that our voice matters.”

Keekley said the Echo has a history of receiving Crown awards, which are comparable to winning State in a sporting event.

“(The Echo) has won Crown awards eight times since 2006. It is even harder than winning State,” Keekley said. “You aren’t just competing with the people in Minnesota, it is with everyone in the nation. If you look at the list, not every state has a winner.”

According to Intveld, the Silver Crown award acknowledges the hard work of the Echo staff.

“The Silver Crown is an award that basically means (the Echo) is in the top 50 newspapers in the country. It is a really big achievement for the Echo to have received this because it really showcases how well recognized of a newspaper we are,” Intveld said. “Even though we don’t do it for the awards it is nice to get some recognition for all our hard work.”

According to Keekley, she is proud of the changes that happen throughout the year, and is glad to have improvement recognized with a Silver Crown.

“Every year I find that I am proud of the work (the staff) does. It is cool to see the progress that gets made from the beginning to the end,” Keekley said. “I think the progress sometimes gets forgotten, and the fact that (the staff) all grows so much as writers, photographers, designers but also as people. The self-assurance people get is cool to see.”