The Journal Earns First Best of SNO Recognition

Emma Casto, Editor in Chief • January 30, 2026

Senior Aubrie Kendall with her Best of SNO certificate.

After school on Nov. 4, journalism adviser Beth Koreski was working late when she received an email that would mark a first for The Journal. As she opened up her notifications and checked her email she found that the publication had won its very first SNO badge: a Best of SNO award for senior Aubrie Kendall’s story “Science Teacher Abby Taylor Fights To Stay Positive After Her Battle With Breast Cancer.”

“I remember I just kind of stared at my screen and I had to process it for a second and I was like, ‘Wait what?’,” Koreski said. “I teared up a little bit because it’s just something that I’ve really been working towards with the staff. I was pretty excited, but it took a second for it to register.”

Koreski shared the news with Kendall by sending her a picture of the story on the site with the award above it. Kendall received the news while she was at home doing homework and she immediately shared the news with her grandma. She didn’t even know her story was submitted so she was completely surprised to hear about her story winning a Best of SNO award.

Screenshot of Aubrie Kendall’s Best of SNO story on The Journal site. (Emma Casto)

“I was so excited along with shocked,” Kendall said. “I had put so much effort into that story and was so proud of it but never expected I would ever win an award.”

SNO (School Newspapers Online) is the platform for more than 3,000 student news websites, including The Journal. The Best of SNO award represents the best work submitted by student journalists who use SNO sites, and is given to a writer when their story meets the requirements set by SNO. Over 110 stories are submitted from student news sites around the world daily but only around 10-15% of them end up receiving the award, according to SNO.

“It validates that we’re doing the right thing,” Koreski said. “You guys are making progress. You’re doing what needs to be done to be competitive with the best papers in the country.”

Winning their first SNO badge has started the staff on a mission of getting all of the SNO badges and other awards as well. Right now, they are working toward securing the WV Journalist of the Year award for one of the staff’s senior writers.

“My goals are to promote it (The Journal) and see it grow,” Kendall said. “I really would love to see this publication continue on after I graduate. I feel like we have worked so hard and would hate to see the potential thrown away.”

About the Contributor

Emma Casto, Editor in Chief

Senior Emma Casto is a third-year staff member and the editor-in-chief of The Journal. She is also involved in NHS, NEHS and Senior Women’s Club. When she’s not at school she is probably reading a book, hanging out with her family or doing community service with her 4-H club. She is a lifelong Taylor Swift fan and is always listening to her music and counting down the days till her new album. She is very excited for this year and cannot wait to write fun and informative stories and to get to know all of the new staff members.