 On September 20, 2019, Lysiak was awarded a Junior Zenger Award for Press Freedom.In her acceptance speech, Lysiak spoke about the need for reporters to stay focused on the truth.On May 10, 2019 Lysiak became possibly the youngest person in U.S. history to deliver a college commencement speech when she outlined her vision for the future of journalism for the graduating class at West Virginia University's Reed College of Media.