The student news site of Sacramento State University

The State Hornet

Student news without fear or favor
The student news site of Sacramento State University

The State Hornet

The student news site of Sacramento State University

The State Hornet

Student news without fear or favor

2023-2024 1st semester Staff

Mercy Sosa
Editor-in-Chief

Mercy Sosa

(she/her) San Diego native Mercy Sosa returns in fall 2023 as the editor in chief at The State Hornet. She joined The Hornet in spring 2020 as a politics beat writer; she later served as news, digital and Spanish language editor. Sosa has freelanced for Sacramento Business Journal, Solving Sacramento and Univision.

Chris Woodard
Managing Editor

Chris Woodard

(he/him) Chris Woodard joined The State Hornet in 2022 as a third-year transfer student. He previously worked as the editor-in-chief of Cosumnes River College’s publication, The Connection. He is a Sacramento native and hopes to cover Arts & Entertainment after graduating in the spring of 2024.  

Fernando Gallo
Adviser

Fernando Gallo

Faculty Adviser Fernando Gallo is a versatile multimedia journalist with 15 years of experience across multiple platforms and a proud alumnus of both Sacramento State and The State Hornet (Class of 2008). Fernando has filed stories for San Francisco Chronicle, The Sacramento Bee, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, Associated Press and Capital Public Radio, and worked as a daily crime reporter for the Lo...

Peyton Sorosinski
Copy Editor

Peyton Sorosinski

(she/her) Peyton joined The State Hornet in the spring of 2022 as a news staffer. She is currently a co-copy editor and grad student in her second semester at The State Hornet. She looks forward to developing a career in journalism and professional writing.

Ruth Finch
Copy Editor

Ruth Finch

(she/they) Ruth Finch is a transfer student from Bakersfield College. There, she majored in studio arts and received a certificate in photography. She’s a queer musician, film photographer, and writer.  

Alesha Blaauw
Social Media Editor

Alesha Blaauw

(she/her) Alesha Blaauw is a senior majoring in political science in journalism. She joined the State Hornet as a social media staffer in the Spring of 2023 and now serves as a social media editor, making creative graphics and videos to deliver our news.

Siany Harts
Social Media Editor

Siany Harts

(she/her) Siany Harts joined The State Hornet in spring of 2023 as a sports staffer.  She currently holds an editorial position as a social media co-editor and is a third year student majoring in communications and public relations with a minor in journalism. Siany enjoys writing, sideline reporting, chatting it up on podcasts, and cooking up graphics. She hopes to pursue a career as a sideline ...

Alyssa Branum
Visuals Editor

Alyssa Branum

(she/her) Alyssa Branum, now serving as visuals editor, is in her third semester working for The State Hornet and fourth semester on a publication. Branum has won awards from the Associated Collegiate Press for her previous work on the paper and has photos published in the Sac Observer. As a senior journalism major at Sac State, Branum looks forward to utilizing creative outlets, working towards her p...

Jacob Peterson
News Editor

Jacob Peterson

(he/him) Jacob joined The State Hornet in fall 2022, and served as the spring 2023 visuals editor and now the fall 2023 news editor. He earned his A.A. in journalism at Cosumnes River College and is working on his B. A. at Sac State.

Jasmine Ascencio
DEI Editor

Jasmine Ascencio

(she/her) Jasmine joined The State Hornet in spring of 2023 as a DEI staffer. She is now the DEI editor for The State Hornet. She hopes to pursue a career in journalism advocating for underrepresented communities.  

Nancy Rodriguez Bonilla
Spanish Editor

Nancy Rodriguez Bonilla

(she/her) Nancy Rodriguez was born and raised in Santa Ana, California. She was a Spanish section staffer at the State Hornet for a year before becoming the Spanish/El Avispon Del Estado editor. She looks forward to amplifying the Hispanic/Latinx voices at Sac State

Myla Booth
Sports Editor

Myla Booth

(she/her) Myla Booth was born and raised in Oakland, CA. She is a senior majoring in political science & journalism. Myla joined The State Hornet in fall 2022 as a sports staffer. She is now serving as a sports editor. Myla hopes to one day pursue a career as a sports journalist and reporter for ESPN and host a sports talk show.

Jack Freeman
Sports Editor

Jack Freeman

(he/him) Jack Freeman joined The State Hornet in spring 2022 as a staff writer. He returns as the co-sports editor and resident Kellen Moore fan. He is currently a junior majoring in journalism.

Hailey Valdivia
A&E Editor

Hailey Valdivia

(she/her) Hailey Valdivia serves as the Arts and Entertainment Editor for The State Hornet. She is currently a fourth-year journalism major and has been a part of the State Hornet for three semesters. Additionally, this fall, Hailey was elected as the Vice President of the Society of Professional Journalists chapter at Sacramento State University. Hailey aspires to be a journalist serving the commu...

Cristian Gonzalez
Multimedia Editor

Cristian Gonzalez

(he/him) Cristian Gonzalez is the multimedia editor for The State Hornet. He is a political science and journalism major and has collected AAs in hospitality management, math, and physical sciences on his way to Sac State. He is interested in incorporating his love for local music, art and food into his work.  

James Fife
Podcast Editor

James Fife

(he/him) James Fife is a Senior film student born and raised in Modesto CA. He joined The State Hornet in Spring 2021 as a multimedia staffer where he then worked his way up to multimedia editor then became the Podcast Editor in Fall 2022. James looks to graduate this semester and be in a part of any industry that will hire him.

Jourdan Jackson
PRMA Editor

Jourdan Jackson

(she/her) Jourdan Jackson is a fourth-year journalism student and PRMA editor with The State Hornet. She is in her second semester, and is passionate about encouraging discourse on social justice. Jourdan hopes to use her platform at the State Hornet to provide a voice to those who have been told their stories don't matter.

Michael Cabida
Social Media Staffer

Michael Cabida

(he/him) Michael Cabida is in his fourth year here at Sacramento State and is majoring in journalism. This is his first semester with the State Hornet and is part of the Social Media team. He hopes to become a journalist that specializes in Arts and Entertainment, and wants to work on the red carpet.

Amaya Segundo
Social Media Staffer

Amaya Segundo

(she/her) Amaya Segundo is a fourth-year journalism major. This is her second semester on The Hornet, returning as a social media staffer. She loves making funky graphics and creating content with her partner-in-crime, Alesha.  

Cam Hanson
Visuals Staffer

Cam Hanson

(he/him) Cam Hanson is a fourth year college student with this being his second year at Sac State. He has experience in photography and sports reporting at Linn-Benton Community College, and has done photography for Oregon State University. He wants to pursue motorsports journalism with his degree.

Ariel Caspar
Visuals Staffer

Ariel Caspar

(she/her) Ariel Caspar is a jounalism major in her last semester at Sac State. This is her first semester on the State Hornet. She is a former editor-in-chief for The Current, American River College's student run newspaper. She has an Associates Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from American River College. She hopes to work in data journalism after she graduates this year....

Angie Kallas
Visuals Staffer

Angie Kallas

(she/her) Angie Kallas is a fifth-year student majoring in english with a minor in journalism. She joined The State Hornet in the fall semester of 2023. She looks forward to developing her career in professional writing.

Brionna Woody
Visuals Staffer

Brionna Woody

(she/her) Brionna Woody is a fifth-year student majoring in public relations. This is her first semester as part of The State Hornet. She hopes to work towards a career in sports media.

Madelaine Church
Visuals Staffer

Madelaine Church

(she/her) Madelaine is a fourth year journalism major at Sacramento State University. This is her third semester at The State Hornet and will be a visuals reporter this semester. Madelaine has experience with photography, news writing, press releases, videography, social media marketing, and other forms of content creation. This summer, Madelaine had the opportunity to work as a photojouranlist...

Erick Mendoza
News Staffer

Erick Mendoza

(he/him) Erick Mendoza is a fourth year political science-journalism major. He has ambitions of being able to make a difference in his community by bringing valuable information that affects Sac State at large. He one day hopes to work in cybersecurity and will pursue that line of work after he graduates.

Jenn Galinato
News Staffer

Jenn Galinato

(she/her) Jenn Galinato is a fourth-year transfer student, studying political science-journalism and international relations. This is her first semester working in The State Hornet as a News staffer.

Analah Wallace
News Staffer

Analah Wallace

(they/them) Analah Wallace is a fourth-year student studying Journalism and Film. Raised in Sacramento, CA, they aim to make newswriting more honest and respectable. Currently they write for the State Hornet, and they hope in the future to write about media such as films, music, and entertainment.

Michaela Graves
News Staffer

Michaela Graves

(she/her) Michaela Graves is a transfer student from CRC where she was staff writer for the connection for two semesters. This is her first semester on the state hornet where she plans on continuing Pershing her dream in journalism and communications. When she's not at school you can find Michaela as a company member for Sac Dance Lab.

Michael Pepper
News Staffer

Michael Pepper

(he/him) Michael Pepper is a second-year transfer student majoring in Journalism. He previously attended Cosumnes River College where he was a staff writer and sports editor for The Connection. This is his first semester with The State Hornet.

Eric Davis
News Staffer

Eric Davis

(he/him) Eric joined the State Hornet in 2023. He is a Sac City transfer and a former staff writer for the Sac City Express. Eric is returning to the State Hornet for his senior year. Eric will be writing for the news section for the fall 2023-2024 semester.  

Julianna Rodriguez
DEI Staffer

Julianna Rodriguez

(she/her) Julianna Rodriguez is a fifth-year Public Relations major with a minor in Journalism. This is her first semester with The State Hornet. She hopes to one day pursue a career in public relations as a press secretary.

Maishia Sumpter
DEI Staffer

Maishia Sumpter

(she/her) Maishia Sumpter is a senior majoring in journalism who transferred in the fall of 2022.This is her first semester on the State Hornet, but she was a writer for her previous school’s online publication, Diablo Valley College’s The Inquirer. She is most interested in covering topics related to civic engagement and social justice and plans to pursue a career in writing and producing ...

DEI Staffer

Summer Lomendehe

(she/her) Summer Lomendehe is a double major in Journalism and Asian American Studies. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief at The Connection in 2019. She hopes to report on marginalized voices within the Asian American community in the future. That, and finding a way to be three inches taller.

Christa Ison
DEI Staffer

Christa Ison

(she/her) Christa Ison is a first-year transfer student from American River College, majoring in Journalism. She has had a lifelong passion for traveling to new places around the world, exploring different foods and cultures. She is a first-time staffer at The State Hornet and is determined to become a voice for the disabled community.

Madison Duong
DEI Staffer

Madison Duong

(she/her) Madison Duong is a senior journalism major. This is her first semester on the State Hornet where she works with the DEI team. She loves all things storytelling and strives to share her creativity through various media mediums.

Rosienelly Salguero
Spanish Staffer

Rosienelly Salguero

(she/her) Rosienelly Salguero is a fourth-year student majoring in public relations. This is her first semester with the State Hornet. She hopes to work as a social media manager or a media related career in public relations.

Angelica Brito
Spanish Staffer

Angelica Brito

(she/her) Angelica Brito is from Los Angeles and is a third year student majoring in Journalism at Sacramento State University. She recently joined the State Hornet for the Fall 2023 semester.

Alejandro Barron
Spanish Staffer

Alejandro Barron

(he/him) Alejandro Barron is a fifth-year transfer student from Cosumnes River College and Sterling College in Kansas. He is a journalism major with aspirations to be a sports journalist while using his first language of Spanish to tell the stories of those in the Latinx community.

Angelica Vera-Franco
Spanish Staffer

Angelica Vera-Franco

(she/her) Angelica Vera-Franco is a fourth-year journalism/ political science student with a minor in Spanish. She joined The State Hornet in the spring semester of 2023 and plans to continue working and writing for the Spanish section. She looks forward to furthering her experience and working towards a career as a journalist.  

Malachi Parker
Sports Staffer

Malachi Parker

(he/him) Malachi Parker is a fourth year student majoring in journalism with a minor in child development. This is his first semester as part of The State Hornet. He is pursuing his career as a sports writer and it begins here.

Karinne Lee
Sports Staffer

Karinne Lee

(she/her) Karinne Lee is a second year journalism major. She joined the State Hornet this semester as a sports staffer.

Jahson Nahal
Sports Staffer

Jahson Nahal

(he/him) Jahson Nahal is a fourth year journalism major who is in his first semester writing for The State Hornet. Previously, he was the sports editor for The American River College Current. He hopes to work in the sports industry one day.

Ryan Lorenz
Sports Staffer

Ryan Lorenz

(he/him) Ryan Lorenz is a transfer student from CRC and is majoring in Journalism. He previously was the Sports Editor for The Connection and plans on continuing his education as a journalist and absorbing as much information as he can while at State Hornet.

Joey Aguirre
Sports Staffer

Joey Aguirre

(he/him) Joey Aguirre is a fourth-year journalism major. He is a passionate sports fan and wants to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Orlando Fuller
Sports Staffer

Orlando Fuller

(he/him) Orlando is in his senior year as a Journalism major. He has aspirations of one day becoming a sports broadcaster and or investigative journalist.

Neill Little
Sports Staffer

Neill Little

(he/him) Neill Little a recent transfer to The Hornet from SCC. He is a political science/journalism major. Food and sports are his biggest passions.  

Arely Duran
Sports Staffer

Arely Duran

(she/her) Arely Duran joined The State Hornet in Fall 2022 as a sports writer. She is a second year Journalism major who is from the central coast. Arely hopes to pursue a career in sports journalism and dreams to become either a NFL sideline reporter or writer

Anthony Golston
A&E Staffer

Anthony Golston

(he/him) Anthony Golston is a fourth year Journalism Major who's hungry to explore everything there is to find related with music in Sacramento State.

Isis Alvarez
A&E Staffer

Isis Alvarez

(she/her) Isis Alvarez is a fourth year journalism major. She previously worked as a reporter, photographer, and editor for Rio Linda high school’s newspaper publication, The Night Times. This is her first semester as a writer for the Arts and Entertainment section of the State Hornet. Isis hopes to be a voice for the art community at Sacramento State and strives to show how art brings communitie...

Maddie Thielke
A&E Staffer

Maddie Thielke

(she/her) Maddie Thielke is a fourth-year transfer student from American River College. She is a journalism major who plans to use her degree to become a Fashion Editor. She is excited to make new connections and looking forward to writing a fashion column for the paper.

Asyah Zamani
A&E Staffer

Asyah Zamani

(she/her) Asyah Zamani is a first-year transfer student from Cosumnes River College. She was previously a staff writer and editor for The Connection newspaper. She is a journalism major and wants to be a staff writer for World Wrestling Entertainment news.

Katelyn Marano
A&E Staffer

Katelyn Marano

(she/her) Katelyn Marano is a fourth-year journalism major, with a minor in English. She plans to take her degree and go into book publishing. She is a Sacramento native and is proud of her community.

Johnathan Rutz
A&E Staffer

Johnathan Rutz

(he/him) Johnathan Rutz is a fourth-year journalism and economics student who joined The State Hornet in fall 2022 as deputy copy editor. Currently an A&E staffer for The Hornet, Johnathan hopes to diversify his reporting experience by writing about Sac State art and finance. He is hoping to work for a non-profit newsroom after graduation.

Desiree McFarland
Multimedia Staffer

Desiree McFarland

(she/her) Desiree' McFarland is a recent recipient of a Bachelor's in Communication studies. Having found a passion for academia, she is completing a minor in Journalism to then pursue a graduate program here at Sacramento State. Desiree is a loyal Hornet having many campus experience that support her inner mission of making a change to better the surrounding community. Her Podcast 916 to Life a...

Jonathan Santiago
Multimedia Staffer

Jonathan Santiago

(he/him) Jonathan Santiago is a third year at Sacramento State and he is majoring in Economics. This is his first semester at the State Hornet and he is very excited to be joining in Multimedia. He is hoping to work as a financial analyst.

Zoya Altabaa
Multimedia Staffer

Zoya Altabaa

(she/her) Zoya Altabaa is a second year journalism major at Sacramento State University, where she's persuing her dream of becoming a voice for immigrants around the world. Currently she works as a Social Media Manager for the International Office at Sac State, She is also part of the multimedia team at the State Hornets.https://instagram.com/zoya_alt?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

Devyn Savitch
Multimedia Staffer

Devyn Savitch

(she/her) Devyn Savitch was born and raised in Los Angeles and transferred to Sacramento State in the fall of 2022. She is studying political science and journalism, and hopes to one day work in political commentary/ broadcasting.

Aliza Imran
Podcast Staffer

Aliza Imran

(she/her) Aliza Imran is a 2nd year journalism major. She is an exchange student from Oxford, England. This is her first semester at the state hornet is and is excited to be joining the podcast team.

Trevor Harris
Podcast Staffer

Trevor Harris

(he/him) Trevor Harris is a 4th year Political Science-Journalism major. He joined the State Hornet this semester.

Evan Patocka
Podcast Staffer

Evan Patocka

(he/him) Evan Patocka is a third-year student majoring in communication studies and minoring in journalism. A native of San Diego, he is joining The State Hornet for his first semester in fall 2023. He hopes to pursue a career in sports broadcasting.

Isabella Nyiri
PRMA Staffer

Isabella Nyiri

(she/her) Isabella Nyiri is a third-year journalism major. This is her first semester at The State Hornet where she serves on the PR team. She aspires to pursue a career in professional writing and public relations in the music industry.

Delaney Joyce
PRMA Staffer

Delaney Joyce

  Delaney Joyce is a second-year Communication Studies major and a first-time State Hornet staffer. She is a part of the Public Relations section and looks forward to gaining experience as a writer and photographer.

Mary Cortez
PRMA Staffer

Mary Cortez

(she/her) Mary Cortez is a fourth-year, her major is political science journalism. She joined The State Hornet this Fall semester. She will be a part of the PR section.

Tobi Fakunle
PRMA Staffer

Tobi Fakunle

(she/her) Tobi Fakunle is a third-year communications major and a journalism minor. She hopes to be a traveling investigative reporter in the future. She enjoys baking and volunteering in her free time.

Donate to The State Hornet
$200
$1000
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

View our comment policy here.
All The State Hornet Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *