In 2015, the Coppell High School news station, KCBY-TV, won a National Scholastic Press Association Broadcast Pacemaker.

On Tuesday, it was nominated for another.

“When I found out we were nominated for a Pacemaker I felt relieved, because…we put together a really good show but you need that validation, you need somebody else to say you met the mark,” KCBY adviser Irma Kennedy said.

A Pacemaker is a prestigious award given to the top student journalism programs by the NSPA and is the high school equivalent to a Pulitzer Prize.

Kennedy was not the first to know. In fact, The Sidekick adviser Chase Wofford was the one who initially received the news through Twitter and went over to the KCBY room to inform Kennedy.

News quickly spread through KCBY members.

“Another KCBY program director, [senior Cole Calabro], facetimed me when he found out and told me and it was really amazing,” senior program director Marissa Greene said. “We were all incredibly happy and we couldn’t have done it without the past directors.”

The staff, made up of 114 members, was full of joy.

“We were super stoked and people were all jumping around,” senior program director Ashwin Suresh said. “Mrs. Kennedy came up to us and said ‘guys, we got finals for Pacemaker’ and we all started screaming.”

Kennedy credits the hard work of past members as well.  

“Every year that we have had since I got here 12 years ago has had a hand in where we stand today, but specifically the [teams] from 2015, 2016, 2017,” Kennedy said. “All the program directors from those three years really made a difference.”

KCBY will know the results for Pacemaker winners this November at the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention  in Dallas.

Twitter: @AnikaArutla