Student News launches — distance learning style

Samidha Mistra is a junior at San Mateo High School, where she’s been a part of her school newspaper, The San Mateo HI, for three years. Mistra loves reading, especially adventure and mystery books. An avid writer, she signed up for her school’s paper as soon as she found out about it, where she’s been a features and copy editor so far. Mistra is planning on pursuing journalism as a career, because she loves the prospect of being able to make a difference or affect someone’s way of thinking based on what she publishes. In her column this year, she plans on writing specifically about news stories or opinions that are overlooked by the general public.

Natalie Doud is a senior at Carlmont High School, where she’s the editor in chief of its student publication, Scot Scoop News. Her passion for journalism came from a love for writing as an outlet. Doud likes to stay active, and plays several sports including volleyball and lacrosse. She also makes a conscious effort to always be learning something new, and has recently picked up the ukulele. She is also learning French and how to surf. As a columnist, Doud intends to write about college and school life, politics and of course, how the coronavirus is affecting students.

Jacob Lubarsky is a senior at Burlingame High School and a copy editor for his school paper, The Burlingame B. He also often helps the paper get to publication by working on page layout and design. Along with being a journalism student, Lubarsky is a music enthusiast and loves listening to and playing music. He knows how to play the bass and the electric guitar, and can be found jamming out to music of virtually any genre, especially jazz and ’70s rock. Lubarsky’s favorites are The Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd and Miles Davis. He also passes free time by reading or taking care of his pets: a corn snake and a dog. This year, he hopes to contribute to the Student News column by offering a unique perspective on what it’s like to be a senior attending high school virtually as well as his own takes on national issues.

Amelia Harris is also a senior at Burlingame High School, where she’s the editor in chief of the Burlingame B. In her free time, Harris runs cross country and track, participates in Girl Scouts, tends to the plants in her garden, hikes and hangs out with her dogs. Harris always loved reading and writing but only recently developed a passion for journalism after realizing the importance of staying up to date with current events and following the news. Harris most enjoys her role as a student journalist because it allows her to learn more about her community, and she appreciates that the work she publishes may be used as a reliable source of information for readers.

Erika Pilpre is a senior at Aragon High School in San Mateo, where she wrote for her school paper, the Aragon Outlook for three years. Outside of school, Pilpre is the team captain of an all-girls FIRST Robotics Team based in San Francisco called the Missfits. Pilpre also enjoys cooking and experimenting with new recipes, and she’s officially certified in crepe making. As a student columnist, she plans on writing about science and technology as well as food and health, specifically how each subject is evolving and its potential impact on society.

I’m also a senior at Aragon, and the co-editor in chief of the Aragon Outlook. I’ve always been a big reader, and I’ve been getting back into reading since March’s shelter-in-place order, especially classics, novels and poetry. In my free time, I try to be very involved in activism and social justice issues. Right now, I’m working as the director of communications for a youth-led education advocacy organization called GENup to tackle education inequity issues in California like closing digital divides and implementing ethnic studies curriculum. I also work as a tutor to teach elementary school students reading and math. My goal for this year, like the other columnists, is to write about political and national issues from the perspective of a student journalist.

Josette Thornhill is a senior at Aragon High School in San Mateo. Student News appears in the weekend edition. You can email Student News at news@smdailyjournal.com.