Staff
Editors-in-Chief
Adalyn Lowe
Adalyn Lowe is a senior at Washington High School, and this is her second year on The Hatchet. She moved from San Francisco at three years old, and has lived in Fremont ever since. This year on the paper, will be co-editor -in-chief. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and traveling. After high school, Adalyn plans to extend her passion for journalism into a career.
Avni Mishra
Avni Mishra is a senior at Washington High School. She grew up in Fremont, California. This is her second year at the paper and she is will be co-editor-in-chief. She is also part of Whs DECA and has been doing Indian Semi-Classical dance for the past eight years. She hopes to become a print journalist in the future!
Section Editors
Isha Kannan
Isha Kannan is currently a junior at Washington High School. She was born in Santa Clara, but has been living in Fremont since she was four. This is her second year working on The Hatchet and she currently holds the role of Opinions Editor. In the past, she has covered a variety of different topics such as health, new years resolutions, school programs, and more. She is excited to help new journalists with their writing and article ideas! Beyond writing, Isha loves going to debate tournaments, reading classic novels like Jane Eyre, parasailing, and practicing calligraphy. She is also one of Washington’s three SURFBoardE student representatives. In the future she hopes to go to university!
Hailia Morshidi
Hailia Morshidi is a junior at Washington High School. She was born and raised in Fremont, California. This is her second year being apart of The Hatchet and she is currently the News editor. She likes writing about global issues, local news, and student life here at Washington. She enjoys reading, writing, hanging out with friends, and listening to all types of music. In the future, she would like to study economics with a focus on pre-law in the hopes of becoming a lawyer.
Arya Khadilkar
Arya Khadilkar is a current senior at Washington High School and she has lived in Fremont her entire life. This is her second year working on The Hatchet and she is currently taking on the role as one of the Arts and Entertainment editors. Arya enjoys setting out around school and interviewing students and faculty members. When she’s not working on articles, you can see Arya dancing as Captain of Washington High School’s Bollywood dance team, working on DECA projects, editing videos, or reading books in her room. In the future, Arya hopes to achieve her goals of going to a college which she enjoys and studying business law.
Arjun Mathur
Arjun Mathur is a sophomore at Washington High School. He was born and raised in Fremont. This is his second year on the Hatchet, and this year, he’s one of the Features editors. He is the publicity director of Washington Speech and Debate, the secretary of Photography Club, and a member of the track and field team. Outside of school, Arjun enjoys writing, listening to music, photography, biking, and discovering more about the city he lives in. He is the founder of the Mission Peak Lookout, an online, student-run newspaper for Fremont. In the future, Arjun aspires to attend UC Berkeley, but he’s not sure about what he’ll major in yet.
Nikita Murugesan
Nikita Murugesan is a sophomore at Washington High School and has lived in Fremont for her entire life. This is her second year working at the Hatchet, where she is one of the Opinions editors. She is interested in covering current trends and events. Her hobbies include reading, dancing, rollerblading, playing the trombone, and enjoying the occasional sweet treat. In the future, Nikita hopes to go to college to study and become a doctor.
Ava Etemad Rezai
Ava Etemad Rezai is a junior at Washington High School and currently in her second year with The Hatchet. She serves as Co-Editor of the Arts and Entertainment section, Co-Manager of the Social Media team, and is also a member of the school’s podcast, Burying the Hatchet. With a strong passion for pop culture, Ava enjoys exploring how media and the arts connect to student life. Originally from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Ava moved to Fremont five years ago. At Washington, she is also involved in Leadership as part of the Campus Life Commission, where she helps plan and coordinate school rallies. Beyond school, Ava works as a floor manager at Minicaton, a cat adoption lounge, and over the summer she assisted as a medical assistant at their surgery clinic branch. Inspired by this experience, she hopes to attend veterinary school in the future and eventually open her own practice.
Makoa Naraval
Makoa has lived in Fremont for all his life. He is going into his second year of journalism and will be the section editor for sports and health articles. He is also the video editor for the Hatchet’s online publications. Currently Makoa is on the varsity football team, and will be participating in basketball during the winter. He also likes to listen to music and edit pictures/videos for his youtube/instagram. He plans to attend Juco and then transfer to UH Manoa or San Jose State.
Sebastian Hernandez
Sebastian Hernandez is a Senior at Washington High School. This is Sebastian’s 2nd year working on the Hatchet. He was born in Fairfield and moved to Fremont in 2023. This year, he will be editing the features section of the newspaper. His hobbies include hiking, drawing, building and wiring arcade sticks, modifying gaming consoles, repairing vintage electronics, and playing basketball, volleyball, and competitive Marvel vs Capcom 2. In the future, Sebastian wants to go to college to study and become a nurse, then go to the Philippines to visit family, and friends.
Staff Reporters
Gazelle Rahimi
Gazelle Rahimi, currently a senior at Washington High School, was born and raised in the Bay Area, but she is ethnically from Afghanistan. This is her first year with The Hatchet, where she is excited to cover stories about students’ daily lives and how both the local and global news can affect it. While she has a passion for writing about social justice and activism, some of her other interests include baking, hiking, travelling with friends and family, and learning new languages. Her future plans include studying economics in college, before going off to grad school in the field she plans to pursue.
Avani Sattikar
Avani Sattikar is a senior at Washington High School, and has lived in Fremont since she was 4 years old. This is her first year at the Hatchet and she is excited to write about topics such as mental health, art, and the environment! She enjoys reading, sketching, and volunteering at the library, and is a member of Model UN and the ACE Mentor Program. In the future, Avani plans to become an architect and go to a university in California.
Suhani Shivasharan
Suhani Shivasharan is a senior at Washington High School. She was born in Santa Clara and moved to Fremont when she was six years old. This is her first year at The Hatchet, and she is interested in covering topics about arts and entertainment, including music, film, theater, and cultural events that engage audiences and spark discussions. Suhani enjoys dancing, skiing, skating, swimming, and hanging out with her friends. In the future, she hopes to go to college and study to become an Orthopedic Surgeon. She is super excited for senior year and to do great things at The Hatchet!
Jacob Carr
Jacob Carr is a senior at Washington High School, and this is his first year working on The Hatchet. Jacob grew up in South Carolina, but moved to Fremont in 2019. He’s a captain on the varsity lacrosse team, and enjoys playing guitar and bass in his free time. He looks forward to writing about sports, music, and anything else interesting. Jacob wants to go to the University of Oregon for broadcast journalism in hopes of becoming a commentator.
Abby Truong
Abby Truong is a senior at Washington High School and has lived in Fremont since birth. She hopes to spend her first year at The Hatchet covering local news and sharing her opinions. Apart from volunteering at the public library, Abby enjoys planning imaginary vacations and developing concepts for TV dramas. She hopes to attend a college in Boston and major in English on the pre-law track.
Isabella Chavez-Blackwell
Isabella grew up in Fremont, California. This is her first year on The Hatchet. She’s mostly interested in writing about sports, arts and entertainment, student life, and senior activities. In her free time she likes to watch TV shows, listen to music, and practice and learn dances. After high school, she’s going to Ohlone community college, then transferring to a 4 year university, hopefully in LA or even abroad.
Kavya Meiyappan
Kavya Meiyappan is a sophomore at Washington High School and has lived in the Bay Area her whole life. This is her first year working on the paper and she’s interested in covering current events, students’ lives outside of school, and various unheard of art professions. Some of her hobbies include journal writing, reading fantasy novels, biking, quilling art, teaching and playing chess, and hanging out with friends. At the moment she’s unsure of what major to pursue in the future, but she hopes to do her best to get into a good University.
Aditya Choudhary
Aditya was in India until he was 6, and then he moved to Fremont.
This is Aditya’s first year working for the paper.
Aditya’s journalistic interests mainly focus on world news and politics. He enjoys learning about what’s happening globally and how political decisions affect different countries and people. Covering politics and world news allows Aditya to connect big global events to everyday people’s thoughts and experiences, which he finds very meaningful.
Aditya’s hobbies include photography and pottery.
He wants to be a civil engineer when he grows up.
John Reilly V
John Reilly V is a senior at Washington High School and has lived in Fremont, California his whole life. This is his first year in Journalism, and he is excited to write about the news for Washington High School. He is currently a member of the Varsity Cross Country team, and soon to be part of the Basketball and Track & Field teams. John doesn’t have concrete plans outside of high school, but he is certain that he wants to expand his passion for journalism outside of school.
Aysha Farooq
Aysha Farooq is currently a senior at Washington High School. She grew up in Fremont and has lived there all her life. This is her first year at The Hatchet and she’s looking forward to writing about local news, politics, and opinions. In her free time, she enjoys going out, spending time with family and friends, and finding new shows and movies to watch. In the future, she wants to go to college and major in political science on the pre-law track.
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Vishakh Pillai
Vishakh Pillai takes pride in growing up in the happiest city in America. Although it’s his first year working for the newspaper, he’s determined to see it grow. Vishakh hopes to cover student life and how different people interact with the world. In the meantime, Vishakh often spends time with his dog, Sparky, and goes out to try different food in the Bay. As for the future, he hopes to attend one of the several UCs in SoCal, as he wishes to settle down and enjoy the weather there.
Jordyn Dyer
Jordyn Dyer is a junior at Washington High School. She was born in Union City California and has lived there her whole life. This is her first year at The Hatchet. She is interested in covering sports, fashion, and art. Her favorite hobbies are being a part of the girls water polo team, swim team, and wrestling team along with music, writing, drawing, and anything creative. Her future plans are to move to San Diego and go to community college for two years. After her two years at community college, she would like to transfer to UCSD and major in architecture while also playing on the water polo team throughout college..
Rehan Sabeer
Rehen Sabeer is a senior at Washington High School. He moved from Phoenix, Arizona to Fremont when he was 3 years old. This is his first year being a part of the Hatchet, and he is excited to take this opportunity to learn about his peers’ senior experiences and relate them to his own. Rehan enjoys playing and watching basketball in his free time. He also enjoys entrepreneurship, creating new businesses in addition to contributing to the success of existing ones. After high school, Rehan looks to major in Applied Math in college.
Carlo Rafael Grajo
Carlo Rafael Grajo is a senior at Washington High School. He lived in Pleasanton, then moved to Fremont at 10 years old. This is his first year working for the Hatchet, and he is interested in covering art and entertainment—such as shows or music—and local news, as well as his opinions. He enjoys listening to and making music, drawing, reading, and watching movies and shows. Carlo plans on pursuing a career in journalism in the future.
Sayana Settipalli
Sayana Settipalli, a junior at Washington High School, was born and raised in India before moving to Fremont in 2015. This is her first year at The Hatchet and she plans on writing about various topics, ranging from political science to digital media literacy. In school, she’s currently acting as Assistant Speech Captain in WHS Speech and Debate. Outside of school, she’s a committed member of both the Tri-City Action Team in Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action and Fremont Debate Academy. In her free time, Sayana enjoys reading and writing poetry, hanging out with her friends, creating graphic designs, practicing screenwriting, and watching movies - especially thrillers. After graduating high school, she hopes to major in a combination of English and education.
Tanishqa Kolekar
Tanishqa Kolekar is a junior at Washington High School and was born and brought up in Fremont. This is her first year at the Hatchet and she’s interested in writing about politics, as well as covering common school issues in a more humorous fashion. She enjoys reading, writing flash fiction and short stories, and developing video games in her spare time. In the future, Tanishqa hopes to be a cybersecurity professional or video game developer, although she’s painfully aware that aiming for a computer science degree could just leave her living in a nicely decorated tent.
Shalvi Saket
Shalvi Saket is a junior at Washington High School. She grew up in India and moved to Fremont just a year ago. This is her first year with The Hatchet, where she looks forward to covering topics related to art. In her free time, she enjoys singing and previously spent time roller skating. Shalvi’s biggest dream is to become a vocalist and build a successful career in the music industry, whether through social media or industry connections. At the same time, she hopes to attend UCLA as a backup plan to pursue her education while working toward her goals.
Haneul Lach
Haneul Lach is a senior at Washington high school. Born and raised in Fremont, this is his first year working on the Hatchet, with interests in journalism and books. He is a varsity water polo player and swimmer who enjoys hiking and being outside, in any setting. He plans on attending a west coast college and pursuing a double major of fire science and communications.
Nathan Tran
Nathan Tran is now a senior at Washington High School. He has lived in Fremont all his life and this is his first year working on The Hatchet. Nathan is very interested in covering various topics relating to social studies, including history, economics, and more. In his free time, Nathan likes to play video games, cook with friends, and go on walks with his dog. As of right now he’s unsure of what his future will be, although he hopes to work in something related to aviation.
Samantha Li
Samantha Li is a freshman at Washington High School, and this is her first year at The Hatchet. She was born in Milpitas, but was raised in Fremont. She is excited to cover news on school life and student opinions around campus. She likes to read, crochet, listen to music, and play with her dog in her free time. She is a member of the marching band at Washington. Samantha wants to work in the medical field one day, and hopes to attend a university after graduation.
ASB
Check out Washington's ASB website created by students. It has resources for every year, including work permits, class information, clubs, and sports.
About Washington High School
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