The Highlander Newsmagazine was presented with the Pacemaker Award on Nov. 18 at the National Journalism Convention in Dallas. According to the National Scholastic Press Association, entries for the award are judged by teams of professionals based on the following criteria: coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership, design, photography and graphics.

The Highlander was one of 26 newspapers from around the country that received the award this year.

Carlyn Kranking, Editor-in-Chief of The Highlander during the 2016-2017 year, is proud of the hard work members of staff have put forth to improve the magazine.

“I think it’s so surreal that The Highlander won a Pacemaker. I remember being a sophomore at the NSPA convention in Denver and being in awe of the publications that won that award, never thinking that The Highlander would be one. But I think it’s amazing for our work to be recognized this way, because our incredible staff put in long hours last year making sure that we always published our best work. I hope everyone is very proud,” Kranking said.

Current Editor-in-Chief Siddarth Shankar hopes to continue improving the magazine.

“I’m really excited about this recognition and hope to build on last year’s success in the future,” Shankar said. “I’m always impressed by the tenacity and dedication our staff puts into every issue.”