With the plethora of local, regional and national trophies and plaques that the Sunny Hills journalism program has earned in its 76-year history, the one distinction that has annually slipped through The Accolade’s grasp has been a Gold Crown from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association [CSPA].
But shortly after spring break, that 14-by-17-inch wooden glass-encased plaque now sits with the rest of the awards in Room 138.
Former The Accolade adviser Tommy Li and his daughter, senior Arts & Entertainment co-editor Serenity, brought it to The Accolade room during fourth period on Monday, March 23, after having traveled to Columbia University to attend the CSPA’s annual Crown awards ceremony on Friday, March 20.
Li also showed the class a video recording of the announcement, which included his and his daughter’s reactions.
“The program was naming Crown finalists in alphabetical order based on the publication’s name, so when the emcee got to the ‘T’s and mentioned The Accolade, he followed that up with the words, ‘a Gold Crown,’” said Li, who retired after guiding the school’s journalism program for 24 years. “After I heard that, I yelled; I don’t even know exactly what words came out of my mouth, but I know I yelled.
“After going up to the front of the stage to accept the award, I kept telling Serenity, ‘I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. We did it.’”
Serenity Li said she could not believe the program’s monumental achievement.
“Honestly, I was more happy for my dad than for myself because in his adviser career he had never gotten a Gold Crown,” Serenity Li said. “The fact that his guidance in his last and final year of advising helped to earn The Accolade our first Gold Crown, I thought, brought a very fulfilling ending for his career.”
The Gold Crown was awarded based on the four newsmagazines and two issues of specialty magazines, as well as the online news website content that the journalism program produced in the 2024-2025 school year. Of the nine schools nationwide competing in the Hybrid General Magazine category, six were announced as Gold Crown winners, while other three earned Silver Crown.
Palo Alto High School’s two specialty magazines — C Magazine and Viking Sports Magazine — were the only other California journalism publications to take home Gold in this category.
TUNING IN FROM THE WEST COAST
Three hours behind on the West Coast during the CSPA’s online live stream of the awards presentation, co-editor-in-chief and last year’s News editor senior Irene Park said she received a notification from the CSPA on her personal Gmail account.
Park, whose news analysis story related to the L.A. County fires was among the featured spreads during the awards ceremony, said she had subscribed to the CSPA newsletters when she had first joined the journalism staff in 2022, and having been on her phone anticipating college decisions, the editor-in-chief said she viewed the video of the uploaded ceremony and was shocked to discover the publication’s crowning achievement.
“Seeing Mr. Li sitting in the front row really made me realize just how much we had done up until this point to get that distinction,” she said. “I really think we need to credit everyone who was a part of working on it last year.”
Park said she rushed to show her parents the news and posted the honor on her Instagram before messaging her fellow top editors to congratulate them on their work.
“Honestly, I was really surprised and taken aback when I learned that we earned the Gold Crown,” co-editor-in-chief and last year’s Feature editor senior Nicole Park said. “I knew that we had some Silver Crowns we [had] earned previously, but knowing that we were awarded something even more prestigious feels amazing.”
Managing editor and previous co-Sports editor senior Lauren Kang said she was also impressed and proud of The Accolade’s historic success, but had expected these results.
“I was at the gym, and I was putting my weights away when I got [Irene’s] text,” Kang said. “And I just stopped what I was doing, and I was like, ‘No way.’”
“I think that the work that the staff did last year changed our style; you could tell it felt more cohesive, and I think it really helped with the focus of our magazine.”
Similarly, web editor-in-chief and last year’s co-Opinion editor senior Aashna Dialani, who had ‘predicted’ the Gold Crown last year while conversing with Li, said the award was well-deserved and anticipated.
“I think for online, the way we contributed to that Gold Crown was obviously coming up with our Spitfire that helped us post a lot more regularly,” Dialani said. “And just contributing to writing as many stories as possible and producing quality work like we have been taught to do.”
To celebrate, Accolade adviser Christopher D’Innocente threw the class a pizza party on Friday, March 27, following through with the promise he made back in on Tuesday, Dec. 9 when the publication first learned about their Crown nomination.
“I had completely forgotten about his promise to us,” assistant Feature editor junior Alice Chae said. “When I entered the classroom I was so happy, and I think the party really reinforced all our hard work from last year.”
ACCO ALUM JOIN IN THE CELEBRATION
“I [felt] incredibly honored; it was never something that I thought would happen under my leadership,” said Berumen, last year’s editor-in-chief and current freshman majoring in communications at the University of California, Davis. “I think it was about time for us to finally win Gold, and it does feel nice to know I contributed to that.”
While she was editor-in-chief, Berumen led the production of the four 32-page glossy magazines — The Accolade’s first newsmagazines since a one-off edition in 2019.
“I wanted something completely different from what we had done before, at least in the years I was there, and I think I was able to really do that,” Berumen said. “I spent a lot of my summer working on the [InDesign] CC library and styles.”
During the lunchtime celebration, Han also shared with her former adviser her involvement with Berkeley’s journalism program, getting hired on as a copy editor and reporter. Berumen also mentioned her internship with the UC Davis Facilities Management, where she assists with newsletters, stories, and social media posts.
GOLD-THEMED SURPRISE
During Tommy Li’s visit to The Accolade staff, he brought each student a Martinelli Gold Medal Sparkling Apple Cider, Haribo Goldbears and Golden Island Korean BBQ Pork Jerky to commemorate the staff — a playful nod to the staff’s newly earned Gold Crown.
While it was unanticipated, assistant News editor Emily Lee said the visit was a pleasant surprise.
“It was nice to see Mr. Li again, and having him back in the classroom reminded me of all my past experiences with him,” Lee said.
Following the program’s historical achievement, layout editor senior Kevin Lee said he is uncertain whether the program will repeat this triumph next year with the new adviser.
“From what I noticed, I think that the changes will cause a rough patch in the program for a while before we finally adjust,” Kevin Lee said. “However, I believe that once we get settled in, The Accolade will definitely come back to its peak performance. ”
Nevertheless, Dialani said she anticipates a chance for a repeat performance next awards season.
“I don’t want to jinx anything, so let’s just see what happens next year, but I have a good feeling,” she said.
