Nischal Jasti

Nischal Jasti, a rising sophomore at Silver Creek High School, hiked almost 12,000 feet to the top of Sandakphu Mountain in Nepal with his family when he was 7 years old. Born in Milpitas, he moved to Bangalore, India at the age of four, living there for three years before returning to San Jose. Nischal enjoys learning about geography and history, as well as playing the piano and volunteering at a local organization, Seva Commons. He  joined his school’s journalism class on a whim, but grew to enjoy its collaborative and welcoming atmosphere, and looks forward to continuing his journey as a photographer at Mosaic this summer.

– Anatara Gangwal

Jorge Ramirez Gomez

Jorge Ramirez is a rising senior at San Jose High School. He is passionate about public speaking and is always looking for opportunities to develop his communication skills. Ramirez grew up in a family of Mexican immigrants with his two older brothers becoming his role models and inspiring him to consider a career in law like them. Ramirez maintains a confident attitude despite sometimes struggling to relate to the people, and believes he can do anything he puts his mind to. Ramirez is also an avid fan of video games and working out, and has a “work hard, play harder” mentality. 

–Sonia Mankame

Karissa Kisela Garza

Karissa Garza, a 15-year-old sophomore at James Lick High School, enjoys sports, especially soccer, and photography.  She found her passion for photography in elementary school after joining her school's yearbook club, getting the chance to see what it's like to take “professional” photos. Wanting to stay close to home, she hopes to attend San Jose State University to study creative photography and writing. Her dream is to be able to photograph professionally for all kinds of events. 

– Jazmine Heredia

Maxwell Alexander

A 17- year-old rising senior at Silver Creek High School, Max has spent his childhood near downtown San Jose, in the Rose Garden neighborhood. He doesn’t like to have a flashy appearance and likes to live one day at a time. He embraces his laid back, down to earth personality. But don’t let his calm lifestyle fool you. Max is a devoted athlete, dedicating years to baseball, hockey and track. He aspires to become a reporter for ESPN and take over for sports talk show host Scott Van Pelt. But for now he’s working toward attending the University of Washington.

– Ivan Valencia-Pérez

Jazmine Heredia

Jazmine Heredia, a recent graduate of Yerba Buena High School, is the first person in her family pursuing a career in journalism. She took a journalism class in her sophomore year and was surprised when she took a liking to it. Heredia said her proudest moment was when she called out her English teacher on how she disliked being the only student being repeatedly called on to share her writing, which she said helped her find her voice. She hopes to get professional journalism experience out of the Mosaic program. Her biggest goal is to write for The New York Times. 

–Karissa Garza

Areha Shah

Areha Shah, a rising sophomore at Santa Clara High School, is slated to serve as an online editor for her school’s newspaper, The Roar. When she is not writing articles, she enjoys drawing and painting, listening to Taylor Swift, and curling up in her room with a good book. Areha, 14, is eager to explore a career path that serves as a crossroads between the STEM and journalistic fields and hopes to further her journalistic and reporting abilities through Mosaic. Besides her academic interests, Shah finds joy in field hockey and spending time with her mother, whom she considers her inspiration.

– Nanki Kaur

Sonia Mankame

Sonia Mankame is a rising junior and passionate writer at Santa Clara High School. Intrigued by writing and reading at an early age, her passion would translate into leadership skills in middle and high school and becoming the focus editor for the Roar newspaper. Sonia also notes the positive effects of journalism on her life: improving confidence and ability to form meaningful connections. She came into Mosaic looking to improve her reporting skills, out of love for journalism and writing, and she’s considering becoming a criminal defense attorney to deviate from STEM structures.

–Jorge Ramirez Gomez

Nanki Kaur

Nanki Kaur is a rising senior at American High School in Fremont. A writer for her school and local newspapers, Kaur hopes to refine her journalistic skills at Mosaic. She believes that every person has their own unique story, and wants to tell them by pursuing journalism and public policy. Kaur is also a stage manager in her school’s theater program and loves taking part in shows. She considers herself to be an “old soul,” having a passion for all things vintage and DIY. In her free time, Kaur can be found visiting coffee shops, watching Broadway shows, or reading poetry. 

– Areha Shah

Antara Gangwal

Antara Gangwal is a rising senior at San Jose’s Leland High School. For 3 years, she has taken Yearbook and Journalism classes there, rising to the rank of co-editor for both these programs. Antara enjoys listening to various artists and bands, like SZA and Japanese Breakfast. She also likes shopping for clothing, whether it's thrifty or expensive, in-person or online. She volunteers with Valley Verde, a program that gives lower-income families the resources to start their own garden. She lives in the Almaden neighborhood with her parents and her little sister. She joined Mosaic this year to further her journalism journey and write local stories.

– Nischal Jasti

Jake Navarro

Jake Navarro, a rising sophomore at San Jose’s Silver Creek High School, has dabbled in various forms of media since childhood. After elementary school aspirations of being a YouTuber and joining yearbook in middle school, Jake has finally been led to the journalism niche. A reporter for Silver Creek’s newspaper, The Raider Review, he enjoys covering a variety of topics. When he is not writing scathing reviews of local pizza restaurants, he reports on student activities within his community. Jake hopes to use his voice to explore social issues concerning younger, queer communities.

– Amanda Boles

Iván Valencia-Pérez

Iván Valencia-Pérez, a rising sophomore at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, is a staff writer for his school’s news publication, The Panther. Valencia-Perez describes himself as an empath, and he finds joy from helping others fight through their problems. One day, he hopes to harness these skills and become a fourth-grade teacher. He also loves animals, especially his black cat, Cassie, who he adopted last November. After watching the movie “Rocky” in seventh grade, he was inspired to try boxing. He only boxed during middle school, but it remains the thing that brought him the most joy to this day. 

– Maxwell Alexander

Amanda Boles

Amanda Boles, a rising junior at Homestead High School in Cupertino, is a reporter at her high school newspaper, The Epitaph. She loves writing feature stories and sharing her opinions on American media to create an impact in her community. Outside of journalism, Amanda’s interests lie in fencing and art. Amanda has an engaging sense of humor - she says her favorite animal is the panda, who she believes reflects her personality when sleep-deprived. She loves trying new foods and visiting new places. Her mantra in life is to find inspiring passions that fuel her enthusiasm for adventure. 

- Malar Raguraman

Malar Raguraman

Malar Raguraman, a rising junior at Homestead High School in Cupertino, has taken up journalism because of her affinity for a multitude of media, including Time and Rolling Stone magazines along with the online edition of the New York Times. She joined her school’s paper, The Epitaph, in her sophomore year and is planning to continue through the rest of high school, now as one of the art and culture editors. While her family is from India, she was born and raised in Cupertino. She spends her free time running and watching romantic comedy movies like “She’s the Man” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” 

– Jake Ryan Navarro