After finding out the Echo had won the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s Gold award, managing editor Gabe Kaplan said after all the hard work Echo staffers put in, the award was a fitting payoff.

“People have been working really hard this (and last) year. It’s nice that the staff’s work is being appreciated, especially in a year like this where everything is so much harder,” Kaplan said. “It just shows how strong of a team we really are, how committed the staff is and how hard the new staffers are working to get involved and help out. It shows the resilience of the Echo community.” 

According to adviser Lori Keekley, the Gold Crown is the highest award the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) gives out. Keekley said although it’s a high accreditation, the Echo doesn’t specifically strive for these awards.

“It’s a really big honor, (but) we don’t do it for the awards. We do this to cover our student body, faculty and staff,” Keekley said.

Editor-in-chief Maddie Schutte said she attributes the awards in part to Echo’s local coverage.

“We do a lot of profiles on people and I think a lot of times those are some of our strongest stories because it’s so personal to the community — that’s what we’re here for,” Schutte said. “We’re not some big publication who’s equipped to cover national stuff. We’re a high-school newspaper and a lot of our strongest work is in covering the stuff in our community that affects the people reading it.”