2022-2023 1st Semester Staff
editor-in-chief
Tony Rodriguez is the current editor-in-chief of The State Hornet. He is a journalism major and is in his fourth year. Rodriguez hopes to travel and report on culture and food after graduating.
...
managing editor
Keyshawn Davis is the managing editor for The State Hornet. He is minoring in film and majoring in journalism. Davis is a freelance writer, published in Comstock’s Magazine, Sacramento Magazine, The Record in Stockton, The Sacramento Observer and Sacramento News & Review. Davis was also the previous diversity, equity and inclusion editor for The State Hornet and former sports editor for Sacramento ...
managing editor
Dominique Williams is the managing editor for The State Hornet. She is a fourth-year journalism major who also covers breaking news as an intern for The Sacramento Bee.
...
copy editor
Casey Rafter joined The State Hornet in spring 2022 as a newswriter. As of fall 2022, he is the website’s copy editor. He also writes for Sacramento News & Review and has experience as a writer, editor-in-chief and student adviser for The Express at Sac City College.
...
deputy copy editor
Johnathan Rutz joined The State Hornet in fall 2022 as the deputy copy editor. He is a fourth-year journalism student, striving for a minor in economics, with previous work as a copy editor for Sierra Community College's student publication, Roundhouse News and Review.
...
news editor
Kamelia Varasteh is the news editor for The State Hornet. She is a journalism major who is also studying for a minor in history. Currently, she is an associate producer at KCRA and aspires to be a news anchor in the future. In the past, she has written for Sierra College’s student paper Roundhouse News and Review where she received a second place award in broadcast news.
...
sports editor
Dylan McNeill works as co-sports editor for The State Hornet and has been on staff since 2020 and has worked as an arts & entertainment writer and a beat writer for baseball and men’s soccer. McNeill is a fourth-year journalism major from Loleta, California.
...
sports editor
Jordan Latimore joined The State Hornet in spring 2019 as a staff writer and is now the editor for the sports section. Before joining The State Hornet he wrote for his school paper, The Bruin Voice, where he had a sports column. Jordan is majoring in journalism and aspiring to cover professional sports in the future.
...
arts & entertainment editor
Jenelle Lum joined the State Hornet in spring 2022 as an arts and entertainment staffer. She is now the arts and entertainment editor for fall 2022. Lum is currently a senior.
...
dei editor
Hannah Asuncion joined the State Hornet in spring 2022. She was in the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) section as an LGBTQ+ beat staffer. Asuncion is now the DEI section editor for The State Hornet.
...
spanish editor
Monterrey, Nuevo León Mexico native Laura De la Garza Garcia is the spanish editor for The State Hornet. She is a fourth-year student double majoring in Nutrition and Food, and Journalism. She joined The State Hornet in spring 2022 as a general rotational staffer reporting on news, arts and entertainment and sports. De la Garza Garcia has worked with KCRA 3’s Estrella TV, wrote a few columns for...
podcast editor
James Fife is the podcast editor for The State Hornet. He is a Modesto native that moved to Sacramento in 2019 to continue his education in film. He is currently a senior.
...
multimedia editor
Former opinion editor Kris Hall is now the multimedia editor of The State Hornet. He is a transfer student from Fresno City College. This is his third semester at this publication and will graduate in spring 2023.
...
visuals editor
Alexis Hunt is the visuals editor for The State Hornet and a senior journalism major at Sac State. This is her second semester with The Hornet, and following graduation, Hunt hopes to pursue a career in photojournalism.
...
digital editor
San Diego native Mercy Sosa returns in the fall 2022 semester as the digital editor for a second time at The State Hornet. She is a fourth-year student who joined The Hornet in spring 2020 as a politics beat writer; she later served as news editor for two semesters. She has also freelanced for The Sacramento Business Journal and is the vice president of finance for Sac State’s chapter of the Soc...
newsletter editor
Emma Hall is the newsletter editor for The State Hornet. Previously, Hall was the inaugural diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) editor. She also led The Inquirer at Diablo Valley College and has worked with The Advocate at Contra Costa College, The CalMatters College Journalism Network and NPR. She is currently a senior.
...
audience engagement/ prma editor
San Diego native Elena Burge is the public relations and audience engagement Editor for The State Hornet. They are in the GE Honors Program and are studying public relations. They joined The State Hornet in spring 2022 as a public relations staffer.
...
multimedia staffer
Cristian Gonzalez is a new multimedia staffer for The State Hornet. He is a political science and journalism major and a cadet in Sac State’s AFROTC program.
...
public relations staffer
Destinee Lang is a fourth-year journalism student. Lang joined the staff in fall 2022 in the public relations section. She currently has her associates degree of arts in journalism. She was a staff writer for Sacramento City Express and freelance writer for Sacramento News & Review. Lang also won first place for best news story for the Sacramento County Breeze.
...
visuals staffer
Fernando Navarrete studies journalism at Sac State. He is currently working with the visuals team at The State Hornet.
staff writer
Sacramento native Nathan Uebelhoer has been writing for The State Hornet since fall 2022. He is a sophomore journalism major with a focus on sports broadcasting.
...
staff writer
Born in Elk Grove, California Zach Lallian is a fourth-year journalism major. This is his first semester working for The State Hornet. Lallian hopes to become a sports journalist when he graduates.
...
staff writer
Will Duvall is a fourth-year journalism major. He joined The State Hornet in fall 2022. Duvall aspires to write and document about different cultures worldwide after graduation.
...
staff writer
William Smith-Moore is a fourth-year communications and journalism double major. He is a first time sports staffer at The State Hornet. Smith-Moore hopes to join a major paper or sports network as a journalist or analyst.
...
staff writer
Tierra Tilby, a current fourth-year political science and journalism major, is serving her first semester at The State Hornet. She works in the news section and plans to explore other sections at the Hornet. She hopes to get a job in broadcasting serving her home area of Sacramento after graduating in May of 2023.
...
staff writer
Steven Gutierrez Jr. is a fourth-year journalism major. He works in the podcast section and hopes to bring good stories and content to the podcast section. He hopes to be able to establish his own successful film podcast one day and give his thoughts on the current movie landscape after graduating.
...
staff writer
Raymond Purscell was born and raised in Sacramento, California. He is a senior and a journalism major. It is his first time participating in a publication.
staff writer
Patricia Ricarte was born and raised in Guam. She is a communications and public relations major and is projected to graduate May 2023. It is her first time participating in a publication and is excited for the challenge.
...
staff writer
Nancy Rodriguez grew up in Santa Ana, California. She is a second-year political science- journalism major. This is her first semester working for The State Hornet. She is excited to contribute stories to the Spanish section. She has hopes of running her own news television channel someday.
...
staff writer
Myla Booth was born and raised in Oakland, California. She is a current senior majoring in political science & journalism. She joined the State Hornet this Fall 2022 as a staff writer. She hopes to one day pursue broadcasting to become an American sports journalist and reporter.
...
staff writer
Monserrat (mimi) Covarrubias joined The State Hornet this fall 2022 semester. She is a fourth-year student and will be working with the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) section. She is very excited to work and create new connections this semester.
...
staff writer
Lawrence Charles is a member of The State Hornet’s podcast section and began working with The State Hornet fall 2022. He has worked in student radio for two years and was awarded the KSSU Best Free Format Show Award in 2021. He is a communications major with a minor in journalism and hopes to pursue a career in radio after graduation.
...
staff writer
Justine Chahal is a staff writer who joined The State Hornet in fall 2022. She is a fourth-year journalism major who transferred from San Joaquin Delta College in 2021. At The Collegian, she won awards for critical review and page layout.
staff writer
Julie Blunt is a fourth-year journalism student who joined The State Hornet in fall 2022. They are a staff writer covering mainly arts & entertainment. Her work has been published in the Sacramento News & Review and American River College’s The Current. She is interested in travel journalism but wants to try all areas of journalism at least once.
...
staff writer
Jacob Peterson is an Orangevale native working for The State Hornet for the fall 2022 semester. He earned his journalism associate's degree at Cosumnes River College and is working towards his bachelor's.
...
staff writer
Jaedon Lyon is a fourth-year journalism major. He does not have prior publishing experience but is willing to learn. He hopes to work in analytics or sports journalism.
...
staff writer
Itzel Espinoza joined The State Hornet in fall 2022. She is a fourth-year journalism major with a minor in communications. Previously, she has worked as a writer for The Collegian. She looks forward to working with The State Hornet and is excited for what is to come.
staff writer
Isaac Streeter is a senior studying political science and journalism and a first-year staffer at The State Hornet. Streeter will be covering sports and hopes to one day work in professional baseball.
...
staff writer
Irene Jacobs joined The State Hornet in fall 2022. She is a fourth-year journalism student. She has previously served as a writer for The American River Current. Her passion and specialty lie in fashion and public relations.
staff writer
Idaly Valencia joined The State Hornet in fall 2022. She is a third-year journalism student minoring in Spanish.
...
staff writer
Hailey Valdivia joined The State Hornet in fall 2022 as a third-year journalism major. It is her first time at a publication.
...
staff writer
Gavin Hudson holds high aspirations to be a film critic. Writing about film gives him purpose and passion for the future. He is currently pursuing a bachelors in journalism while working for assorted publications like IGN and Solving Sacramento.
...
staff writer
Los Angeles native Elizabeth Meza is a fourth-year political science and journalism major. She joined the State Hornet in fall 2022 as a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff writer.
...
staff writer
Christina Mendez is a third-year journalism student and joined The State Hornet in fall 2022 as a multimedia staffer. She is excited to continue working towards her goals in broadcast media.
...
staff writer
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, covering arts and entertainment.
...
staff writer
Celene Talavera joined The State Hornet in fall 2022 as a diversity,equity and inclusion (DEI) reporter. She is a journalism major with a minor in Chicanx/Latinx studies.
...
staff writer
Bram C. Martinez joined The State Hornet fall 2022, transferring from American River College. He previously worked as a student reporter for two semesters at The American River Current.
...
staff writer
Alyssa Branum is a published student journalist joining The State Hornet for fall 2022 semester. As a senior journalism major at Sac State, Branum looks forward to working towards her photojournalism career and connecting with others.
...
staff writer
Alexis Pedroza joined The State Hornet fall 2022, transferring from Bakersfield College. His experience includes being a student reporter for one semester at his junior college.
staff writer
Adoreil Ayoubgoulan is involved in numerous campus organizations and this is his first semester at The State Hornet as a public relations staffer. Adoreil was born and raised in Iran and came to the U.S. in 2009. He is a proud Assyrian-American. Adoreil is a journalism major and minoring in communications.
...
staff writer
Stacy Hanson is a news reporter for The State Hornet and joined in Spring 2022. Her hometown is Diamond Bar, California, but she has been at Sac State since 2019. She is minoring in marketing and is expected to graduate next spring.
...
staff writer
Jack Freeman joined The State Hornet in spring 2022 as a staff writer. He now works as the football beat writer. He is currently a sophomore majoring in journalism.
...
staff writer
Hugo Quintanilla joined The State Hornet in spring 2022, and now covers men’s soccer for The State Hornet. He moved from Los Angeles to Sacramento in the summer of 2021. He hopes to cover European football/soccer in the future.
...
staff writer
Michael Pacheco joined the State Hornet in the fall of 2021. Returning as staff this semester, Pacheco looks to graduate in spring 2023 and plans to transition into education.
...
![[FILE PHOTO]Freshman Midfielder Danny Govea handles the ball at home vs. LMU on Sept. 8th, 2022. Sac State will return to Hornet Stadium vs. CSU Northridge on Oct. 5 at 3 p.m.](https://statehornet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Photo1-900x600.jpg)
![[FILE]: Sac State junior forward Michael Gonzalez dribbles the ball through the Loyola Marymount University defense on Sept. 8 in a 2-1 win for the Hornets. Gonzalez is tied for second on the team with two goals scored this season.](https://statehornet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Lead-3-900x600.jpeg)
![[L-R] Sac State athletic director Mark Orr and newly hired Sac State men’s basketball coach David Patrick pose with a jersey during a press conference Tuesday April 12, 2022 at the Sac State Welcome Center. Patrick is set to lead the Hornet program after most recently serving as an assistant with the Oklahoma Sooners last season.](https://statehornet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P1A9118-1-900x600.jpg)
![[FILE PHOTO] Interim head coach Brandon Laird during practice Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, in The Nest at Sacramento State. Lairds contract expired on March 31 as Sac State has finalized a deal with David Patrick to become their next head coach.](https://statehornet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1-8-900x600.jpg)
![[FILE PHOTO] David Patrick coaching with Oklahoma Sooners in a photo sent by Hornet Athletics Tuesday, April 5th, 2022. Patrick is finalizing a deal to become head coach of Sacramento State’s men’s basketball team per report.](https://statehornet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/dpaa-900x624.jpg)
![[FILE PHOTO] Sophomore pitcher Eli Saul throws against California Baptist on Friday, April 29, 2022 at John Smith Field. Saul threw his first complete game in a 121-pitch effort in Fridays win over Grand Canyon University.](https://statehornet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/lll-900x600.jpg)
![[File Photo] Junior second baseman Rylee Gresham lays down a bunt against Portland State. Gresham was able to score a run this weekend as a pinch-runner against Weber State.](https://statehornet.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/LedeImage-4-900x600.jpeg)
