“The city that never sleeps.”

“The Big Apple.”

“The city of sound.”

All quotes about New York are true. The city never seems to sleep. The sound never stops. It never fails to astound.

It was exciting news to hear The Eagle’s Tale had won a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Crown award. The awards ceremony was at Columbia University in New York City, a trip we did not expect to make. Luckily, the choir happened to be taking a trip to New York, staying on Manhattan Island, which was the same island the CSPA award ceremony would be. Callie Boren and I already signed up to attend the choir trip, so this bit of sheer luck gave us the opportunity to accept our award in person.

We arrived in New York Wednesday evening, and the days leading up to the ceremony were full of excitement and adventure, with Broadway shows, great food and lots of walking. We spent little time at our hotel, and why would we when there is so much to see?  The hotel, smack dab in the middle of Time Square, gave us views from the outside, but the real fun began when our big group broke into small “families” and explored the city.

Day one consisted of Time Square shopping and the Natural History Museum. I was excited for the chance to see the amazing exhibits shown when the museum was used in filming “Night at the Museum.” The night ended with “Aladdin” on Broadway. Costumes, vocals and everything about the show was stunning, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone.

Day two was not any less exciting. We attended a “Wicked” Broadway workshop with one of the actors in the show, and then Callie, her mom (associate principal Jennifer Boren) and I headed to the subway for Columbia University for the award ceremony.

We arrived early enough to eat lunch, change into our fancy attire and walk around the bookstore looking for souvenirs where Callie and I bought sweatshirts.

High school journalism students from across the country spilled into the streets and into shops during the hours before the ceremony. Everyone at the event wore a blue lanyard with their name attached, so they were easily recognizable. So many of them. Everywhere. Groups from two to 20 wandering around New York City.

At first, I felt intimidated by the large schools and groups. They had funding beyond belief and more talent than I can imagine. After that feeling passed, I felt super proud of the Canyon High journalism program. A small town school from the Texas panhandle, winner of a national journalism award.

After the award ceremony we stayed on campus to take pictures and to recreate the picture from when The Eagle’s Tale won the first Crown award. Throwing snow to make it look like the weather was cold and dreary was by far my favorite memory.

I felt like this award was another testament to how wonderful our program is. We work hard to post good content everyday, and the fact that people noticed that is a big deal. As much fun as the rest of New York was, accepting the Crown Award was the highlight of the trip. The only thing left to say now is, “Thanks for the memories, New York. Hopefully, The Eagle’s Tale will see you next year.”