Katelyn Chang (11), Editor-in-Chief
Katelyn Chang is currently a junior at Mills and is the Editor-in-Chief of The Thunderbolt. Writing has always been a passion and hobby of Katelyn’s, so being able to work on the The Thunderbolt has been a rewarding experience. This year she’s excited to lead the class back into a semblance of normalcy after the whirlwind that was last year. Aside from the class, she loves reading novels and spending time with her friends and loved ones. As for movies and television, Katelyn’s favorites are Grey’s Anatomy, Jane the Virgin, and The Good Wife. 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 the rest of The Thunderbolt team, she’s sure that together, they can turn work towards turning her goal into a reality.
Magdalene Ko (11), News Editor
Magdalene Ko (11) is a Junior and in her second year of journalism as News Editor. She’s excited to experience the regular workings of The Thunderbolt after only learning on Zoom. She is especially looking forward to working with new staff writers and hopes to learn as much as she can in the coming year. Her favorite fruit is avocado and enjoys it by simply cutting it open and eating it plain. When not buried under homework and piano practice, some of her hobbies are talking with friends, reading, and occasionally baking.
Katelyn Lam (11), Features Editor
Katelyn is in her 2nd year of journalism and she’s excited to see how different everything will be in person. She has held an interest in writing since middle school and finds it fun to see how the newspaper comes together. From the writing of articles to the final publication, being part of the process is something she holds an interest in and she can’t wait to collaborate with other writers to create something amazing. She’s excited to improve her writing skills and learn different outlets of media that aren’t taught in a standard classroom setting. She enjoys reading as a hobby and anything with action and fantasy tends to catch her attention. Some of her favorites include Mask of Shadows and Stormcaster, as well as manga like Black Butler: an exciting mix of mystery and excitement.
Nagham Masarweh (10), Center Spread Editor
Nagham Masarweh (10) is entering her second year of Journalism as editor of Center Spread at the ThunderBolt. Since she was a child, she found journalism fascinating, yet underrated among youth and felt it deserved more attention. She is excited to use her voice to spread awareness about issues, current events, social justice, and captivating topics. She is looking forward as an upcoming editor to open up the Mills newspaper to articles that will be entertaining and influence readers. When Nagham is not studying, writing articles, and stuffing her face in books, you can find her playing sports for Mills, volunteering, joining clubs and more. She loves communicating with new people, having a good time with friends, binge watching shows and movies, going on runs and walks, hiking, looking through books at the bookstore or library, and painting while listening to music. On weekends she loves going into the kitchen and learning new recipes to cook and going on new adventures with her family including paintball, ice skating, bowling, water balloon fights, and art contests. As an adventurous person who loves trying new things, she is looking forward to embarking on her journey through high school.
Joshua Choe (10), Opinions Editor
Joshua Choe is a sophomore at Mills High School and is the Opinions editor for The Thunderbolt for his second year in the class. He hopes to have a great year editing for the staff writers along with writing his own articles. Outside of school and Journalism, Josh enjoys hanging out with his friends, as well as making new ones. Passionate about music, Josh listens to all genres of music, with favorites coming from R&B and rap and artists such as Ski Mask the Slump God, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and many others of similar genres.
Maxwell Zaninovich (10), Sports Editor
Max is in his second year of Journalism acting as the Sports Editor. Last year as a staff writer Max wrote all varieties of articles ranging from news to sports and discovered his passion for writing. When Max is not working hard at school he enjoys playing video games with his friends or watching whatever live sport is on. Max is a very active person and his favorite activity is playing basketball. Max is also an avid reader and it is rare to find him without a book in his face. His favorite book changes every day but his current favorite is Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. Max is excited to take on an editor role for the Thunderbolt and hopes to create a great experience for all of the staff writers.
Brendan Phimsoutham (11), Staff Writer
Brendan Phimsoutham (11) is a Junior hoping to aim for the most common goal of all high school students: good grades. As basic as he seems, Brendan has numerous talents such as being a skilled fisherman and an intermediate cartoonist. He is usually very outgoing but can be quiet in a larger room at times. In his household he has a mother, father, sister and two dogs. In his newly found elective, Journalism, he hopes that he can integrate a fun and entertaining array of comics and cartoons into the Mills Thunderbolt for all audiences to read it.
Chloe Ho (10) is in her sophomore year and entering Journalism as a staff writer. She has always held a passion for writing and is eager to contribute to The Thunderbolt, grow her set of skills, and get to know her peers. When she’s not studying or watching cat videos, Chloe can be found busy with personal projects, writing stories, or drawing. She enjoys Sanrio, cats, and all things cute. Her current goal is to pursue psychology after high school. She’s happy to be here this year and looks forward to what this year will bring!
Ciara Whipple (12), Staff Writer
Ciara Whipple (12) is in her first year of Journalism, as a Staff Writer. She has been fond of reading and writing from an early age, but never pursued anything in the field until now. She is very excited to have this experience. She finds enjoyment in almost all literature, but her favorite is Candy by Luke Davies. In her free time, Ciara enjoys going to the beach, watching sunsets, and hanging out with her friends. She has been swimming since she was little and still continues it today. She enjoys trying new things, and hopes to add Journalism to her passions as well as improve her writing skills.
Elizabeth Chen (9), Staff Writer
Elizabeth Chen (9 is in her first year of journalism as a freshman. She joined journalism because she wanted to improve her writing skills and see the behind-the-scenes of making a news article. She enjoys reading, she especially likes murder mysteries, one of her favorite books being And Then There Were None. Elizabeth also enjoys watching anime, playing video games, and trying new foods. Lastly, she hopes that she can help contribute to The Thunderbolt and to learn more about the Mills community.
Hanson Han (11) is currently a staff writer for the Mills Thunderbolt. This is his first year in journalism. He spends all of his free time studying, exercising, playing with his dogs, and playing video games. He is currently taking 4 AP classes, on top of two regular classes. He runs cross country after school, and plans on running track & field in the spring. Besides running, he also considers himself an expert in ping pong. When he is at home, he is either studying, wrestling with his dogs, or playing video games. His two dogs are named Bailey and Puffy. Bailey is a german shepherd; Puffy is a havanese-maltese mix. Here are a few achievements that Hanson is extremely proud of: 2nd degree black belt in taekwondo, CPR certificate, and most importantly, the youngest but tallest student in the grade. He dreams of attending any prestigious university, or any UC.
Jake Meyers (9) is a first-year staff writer for the Mills Thunderbolt. He is excited to write articles, as well as learning the basics of becoming a journalist. Jake also hopes to help support the Mills community in informing and spreading ideas. Jake’s music choices will always be Queen and The Beatles. Some of his favorite films include Lost in Translation and Saving Private Ryan. In his free time, Jake enjoys to re-watch episodes of The Office. Jake hopes for this year to be better than all that came before.
Julia Xia (9) is a staff writer in her first year of Journalism, she decided to join the Thunderbolt because she has always been interested in writing. When she was a kid she read many books like “A Wrinkle in Time” and all the books in the book series “The Land of Stories” and these books inspired her interest in writing. She’s always wanted to share her opinions with others and write her thoughts in a well written format. Now that she is a writer in the newspaper she will be able to do all those things and more. On weekends she usually spends her time on her computer watching her current favorite TV shows Criminal Minds and the Umbrella Academy. But aside from writing and TV shows Julia enjoys drawing, learning new cooking recipes and talking with her friends. Julia is excited to be apart of The Thunderbolt this year and learn more about the class and journalism.
Kaliya Williams (12), Staff Writer
Kaliya Williams (12) is in her first year in Journalism as a Staff Writer. She is eager to learn how the Thunderbolt is pieced together and contribute to writing staff pieces. Kaliya considers herself a tv show enthusiast, so much so she rewatches her favorite shows: The Vampire Diaries, Grey’s Anatomy and Gossip Girl religiously. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, learning new skills and going on hikes by the beach. Considering this is her last year at Mills, she hopes to learn more about being a Journalist and researching this year’s upcoming topics.
Mia Khan (9) is a staff writer at The Thunderbolt. She looks forward to collaborating with other writers and spreading awareness through journalism. She is excited to write about important topics and opinions for The Thunderbolt. Joining journalism will help her excel as a writer and expand her interests in reading and writing. In her free time, Mia likes to hang out with friends and play the guitar. Mia also enjoys traveling and going to the beach. Her favorite season is Fall because it’s her birthday season and she loves Halloween. Mia is excited to join The Thunderbolt team this year!
Michaela Gonzalez (10), Staff Writer
Michaela Gonzalez (10) is in 10th grade, and a first-year staff writer for the Mills Newspaper, The ThunderBolt. Although she decided not to take Journalism as a freshman, she is happily embodying it in her sophomore year. She loves reading, from fiction, to Vogue magazines, to poetry. Her favorite pieces include Orlando by Virgina Woolf, Women Don’t Owe You Pretty by Florence Given, and The Selected and Poetical Works of Audre Lorde. When she’s not reading, she is dancing ballet, jazz, tap, and lyrical at West Coast Dance Conservatory. Apart from literature and dance, she deeply appreciates every kind of art, from film, painting, music, and fashion. When she wants to play some tunes, Michaela would play some 70s classic rock, including Queen, David Bowie, Miley Cyrus, Fleetwood Mac, and The Runaways. Michaela also tries her best to stand and advocate for social justice and be an ally for marginalized groups. With the help of The Thunderbolt she hopes to voice her opinions and make some real change.
Phoebe Piserchio (9), Staff Writer
Phoebe Piserchio (9) is in her first year of Journalism, currently a staff writer for the Thunderbolt. As someone who has a passion for free-writing and speaking her opinions, she happily jumped at the opportunity to join the class. She has always admired writing, finding it an incredible way to express who you are while telling imperative stories. Some of her hobbies include baking, traveling, going out with friends, reading, playing with her dog, and watching Netflix. Her favorite movies include the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, and she enjoys rewatching them with her welsh corgi, Bella. Some of her favorite books are Little Women, The Mysterious Benedict Society, and The Hobbit, which she rereads very often. Being only her first year in both high school and Journalism, she is excited to work with the class and convey her opinions to the school community through writing.
Samantha Chen (9), Staff Writer
Samantha Chen (9) is a freshman at Mills and a staff writer for The Thunderbolt. She hopes to learn more about writing articles and what goes into making a newspaper. She also hopes that she can improve her writing skills through journalism. In her free time, she likes to play games, watch anime, read and try new food. Some of her favorite anime are Sk8 the Infinity, Bungou Stray Dogs and Horimiya. Aside from that, this year she hopes to be able to contribute something to the Mills community and have many amazing new experiences.
Tiffany Xu (9) is entering her first year of Journalism, and is a freshman in Mills as a staff writer. She’s excited to help write The Thunderbolt, and to bring out news to everyone. She has an interest in writing and reading, and hopes to get better as a writer. Outside of school, Tiffany enjoys eating, swimming, and shopping. She also has a passion for kpop and discovering new songs. Eager to learn, Tiffany is sure to work hard and make the newspaper as best as it can be.
Vanessa Nguyen (9), Staff Writer
Vanessa Nguyen (9) is entering her first year in Mills and is in Journalism as a staff writer. She wants to spread her writing skills into something large for the community. Vanessa enjoys music and has a variety of musical interests. She played the flute in her school band for 3 years and practiced piano her whole life. Over the pandemic, she’s gotten into reading. Her favorite book is P.S I Like You by Kasie West. Her favorite movies are the Maze Runner Trilogy and 10 Things I Hate About You. She joined journalism to collaborate with other writers and share her ideas in a group setting. She plays sports like volleyball and basketball and is interested in trying out for cheer this year. Her hobbies also include art and journaling. She’s hoping to expand her ideas and interests in her 4 years here.
Zhiyuan Ma (9) is a staff writer for The Thunderbolt. He is excited to tell the Mills community the goings-on of the school through the newspaper. If you see Zhiyuan outside of school, you will probably see him reading or playing games (and failing miserably). He enjoys reading mystery novels and guessing who’s the culprit. He hopes that his journalism career will both inform the community and, being a freshman, help him discover new things about the Mills.