Today was an absolutely wonderful day! I won two of the most prestigious awards given by CSPA (Columbia Scholastic Press Association).
The first was presented at the adviser luncheon. I was awarded the Gold Key. This award is presented to those who have shown outstanding dedication to scholastic journalism. More information about the award can be found here. https://cspa.columbia.edu/honoring-people/gold-keys
My aunt came in from Long Island to be there to share my moment. She’s my mom’s sister, but at times I’m more like her than my mom. I was really without words, which is not like me. I was glad that I didn’t have to give an acceptance speech – I don’t think I could’ve gotten through it.
As the lunch ended, the gentleman who presented me with the award told me that he had to catch himself while reading my acknowledgement because he kept getting choked up. The gentleman who wrote my acknowledgement told me that it was the most beautiful and most difficult one he’s ever written; he teared up when he told me this.
From the Gold Key luncheon, we made our way to the Crown Award ceremony. CSPA gives out either Gold or Silver Crown Awards to publications that exemplify the best of scholastic journalism. Once you know you’re a Crown finalist, you know that you’ll get one – you just don’t know which color. The yearbook has never won a Crown. The awards were given out alphabetically by publication name. We were up first. Once they called Aerie yearbook and said Gold Crown, my heart stopped. I had already put on the crown that my Walsworth rep gave me. I brought up the 2018 staff, we got our award and took a picture with CSPA Executive Director Edmund Sullivan. It was truly an amazing day.
The 2018 yearbook was such a labor of love. We are so proud of the work that we did. It’s such an honor to be recognized and awarded for your hard work. More information on the Crown Awards can be found here. https://cspa.columbia.edu/recepient-lists/2019-awards-student-work-crown-awards-scholastic-recipients
