Meet the Staff 2020-2021

Anjuli Niyogi (12), Editor-in-Chief

Anjuli Niyogi is the current co-Editor-in-Chief of The Thunderbolt, former Opinions Editor and News Editor, and in her fourth and sadly, final year of Journalism. She’s excited to spread news to the Mills community in new forms, with multimedia projects, video journalism, and much more in these unprecedented times. Anjuli spends most of her outside time advocating for mental health awareness and aspires to pursue a college major in cognitive science. When she gets some free time, you can find her watching reruns of The Office, and occasionally Parks & Rec, though she can confidently defend that the former is the superior sitcom. She envisions that even with a smaller staff and distance learning, The Thunderbolt has the skills and work ethic to enter one of its greatest year’s yet. 

Leanna Yu (12), Editor-in-Chief

Leanna Yu is in her fourth year of Journalism as co-Editor-In-Chief. From her previous positions as Culture and Center Spread Editor for The Thunderbolt, Leanna has discovered a new passion for graphic design, digital storytelling, and videography. Her interest in writing and curiosity for current events inspired her to continue pursuing journalism outside of school. Aside from journalism, she enjoys sunny beach days and sunsets by the ocean. With her love for romance and dogs, Leanna spends most of her free time reading YA novels and cuddling with her 5-year-old cockapoo. As a senior, she hopes to start her own digital art magazine and expand the online presence of The Thunderbolt this year.

Karine Chan (12), Editor-in-Chief

Karine Chan (12) is entering her third and final year of Journalism as current co-Editor in Chief and former Entertainment editor of The Thunderbolt. Over the years, Karine has developed a strong passion for the entire production cycle of the newspaper and thoroughly enjoys being able to work closely with many other talented writers. Aiding her love for journalism, Karine seeks to land an internship at the SF Chronicle once she graduates high school. When she’s not sitting on the beach or on a boba run with friends, you can bet money that she is binge watching Grey’s Anatomy (I know, basic) for the hundredth time. Though this is not how Karine envisioned her final year of Journalism, she is going into it bright eyed and exhilarated to spread groundbreaking news to the Millbrae community. Karine is optimistic that with the help of her peers, The Thunderbolt will have an extraordinary year.

Justin Condevillamar (12), News Editor

Justin Condevillamar is in his second year of Journalism as the current News Editor for The Thunderbolt. The previous year had opened him up to the world of multimedia journalism and the values of spreading knowledge and information across the community. Justin’s interests in informative writing and analyzing opposing arguments has led him to search out different and often less heard viewpoints and share them in the greater community. Outside of Journalism, it is not uncommon to find Justin enjoying the wilderness, he loves exploring a new trail or camping out in the country. When he is not stressing over the educational aspect of his life, he enjoys watching a good sports game, basketball being one of his favorites. This year, Justin hopes to expand everyone’s knowledge of the world surrounding them as it rapidly changes.

Angela Dimaano (12), Features Editor

Angela Dimaano returns to The Thunderbolt in her third and final year as the Features editor and previously the assistant Business and Business manager. She is ecstatic to reunite with her fellow editors to create a memorable and high quality newspaper. Although The Thunderbolt is beginning production of the newspaper in a completely new environment, the editor team, Angela included, pledges to improve upon the reach and quality of the online newspaper, which can be read at millsthunderbolt.com. Outside of class you can find Angela perfecting her baking skills, hiking with her family, and sleeping ridiculous amounts on weekends. She has high hopes for this year being one of the best yet. Keep an eye out for the Features section in the upcoming Thunderbolt editions!

Bianca Reyes (12), Center Spread Editor

Bianca Reyes is entering her second year of Journalism as the editor for Center Spread. This is sadly her last year at Mills and, thus, her last year of being a part of The Thunderbolt. Though she regrets not joining the team sooner, she’s glad that she had the opportunity to join such a diligent and creative team. Bianca is excited to express her creativity through her layouts and is enthusiastic to learn about and meet incoming staff writers. In her free time, she enjoys binge watching different TV shows, such as Arrested Development and Avatar: The Last Airbender and baking! Despite the setbacks that this year has presented Bianca is sure that The Thunderbolt team will work hard and make this year’s newspapers the best it can be.

Madison Wong (12), Opinions Editor

Madison Wong (12) is in her first year in Journalism as this year’s Opinions Editor. Although she has never been in the class before, Madison has experienced Journalism second hand and is thrilled to finally be a part of The Thunderbolt. She is excited to read and write about opinions, as she has many strong opinions herself. Madison enjoys running, and is on the cross country and track and field team for Mills. On the side, she also runs her own business, called ribbons allure, in which a portion of the proceeds is donated to cancer research, a topic she feels very passionate about. In her free time, Madison practices guitar and attempts to write music. She is eager to learn more about Journalism and cannot wait to get to know everyone.

Misael Gomez (12), Sports Editor

Misael Gomez (12) is in his second year of journalism as a new editor for the Sports section. Last year, Misael fell in love with writing about sports for his editor and Mills alumni, Justin Dunbar, which inspired him to apply as the Sports editor for The Thunderbolt. Aside from being an avid music listener, he enjoys making music himself even though he won’t be producing the next hit anytime soon. He also enjoys watching The Office and, of course, sports games. Although Misa was only in journalism for one year, this quarantine made his last year in journalism more interesting because of the fact there won’t be any Mills sports going on until the beginning of 2021. Regardless, Misa hopes to find an interesting array of topics to write about despite the limitations.

Melissa Catpo (9), Staff Writer

Melissa Catpo is a freshman staff writer at The Thunderbolt. She is most excited to watch how the newspaper issues come together and to work with people from different grade levels. Since she was little, Melissa’s favorite subject was English and she’s always been very fond of literature. Melissa’s hobbies include reading, baking, shopping, and hanging out with friends. Melissa has two guinea pigs named Cinnamon and Snickers. She also has two older siblings, a brother and sister, who are twins. Some fun facts about Melissa is that she is left handed and her favorite movie series is The Hunger Games. Melissa is looking forward to the new experiences and new skills she will learn in Journalism this year.

Jordan Hasty (12), Staff Writer

Jordan Hasty (12) is in her first year of journalism as a staff writer. Writing became one of her biggest interests at an early age, but she never pursued it. In recent years, her interest in reading and writing sparked, and she is very excited to be a part of this experience. In her free time, Jordan enjoys long drives along the coast and having picnics on sunny days. When spending time outside, surrounded by nature, she feels most in her element. If she is not outside, she is likely inside baking chocolate chip cookies since they are a family favorite. As it is her first year entering the class, she hopes to incorporate a high-spirited presence in The Thunderbolt.

Katelyn Chang (10), Staff Writer

Katelyn Chang is starting off her first year in Journalism as a sophomore in high school. Although she unfortunately decided not to take this class in freshman year, she’s excited to learn more about what it takes to run a newspaper. Writing has always been a passion of Katelyn’s, so working on The Thunderbolt is sure to be an enjoyable experience. Aside from working hard, she loves to spend her free time with her friends, whether it’s going out to eat or simply just enjoying each other’s company. Recently, Katelyn has been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender which has been one of her favorites since she was seven, but her all time favorite shows are Grey’s Anatomy, Jane the Virgin, and Criminal Minds. Katelyn has also started to respark her love for reading, indulging in both young adult and new adult novels. Aside from her hobbies, Katelyn’s true goal is to make the community around herself a better place for youth, adults, and everyone alike. With joining The Thunderbolt team, she’s excited to take steps forward in turning her goal into a reality.

Magdalene Ko (10), Staff Writer

Magdalene Ko (10) is joining this year’s Journalism team as a staff writer. She is excited to explore and learn all about the newspaper, from the process of writing articles to seeing the end result. Having always enjoyed writing, she looks forward to expressing herself through her articles and collaborating with fellow writers. You can almost always find Magdalene with her head in a book, completely lost to everything that’s happening around her. While she finds enjoyment in almost any literature, her favorite books are Little Women and Pride and Prejudice. Aside from reading, she can be found spending time with loved ones or practicing piano. As someone who has been taking lessons since she was very young, Magdalene treasures playing piano. Although she started learning Classical pieces, she also ventures out on her own to play songs she enjoys. Magdalene hopes to add Journalism to her list of passions through this year’s experiences.  

Katelyn Lam (10), Staff Writer

Katelyn Lam is a sophomore and this is her first year in journalism. She is excited to try something new and different and can’t wait to get started! She wants to learn more about how a newspaper is written and the behind the scenes work that is put into making a paper, and by taking journalism, she also hopes to expand her range of interests. Some of her favorite hobbies include reading and by joining journalism she hopes to improve her writing skills as well. She hopes to learn from this new experience and by the end of the year hopes to have given something back to the Mills community.