Melissa Franco
Melissa Franco is a student at Sacramento City College, where she is double-majoring in film studies and journalism and minoring in child development. Currently she manages a youth-led nonprofit media program under Access Sacramento for young journalists in Sacramento County and works for the YMCA of Superior California. Previously she worked for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Sacramento and the YMCA of the East Bay, where she taught teens and middle-schoolers about filmmaking and art.
Julian Mendoza
Julian Mendoza is a student at California State University, Chico, majoring in journalism and minoring in criminal justice. His goal is to break investigative stories that showcase issues in marginalized communities. He’s a fellow at CalMatters and multimedia editor for the Orion, Chico State’s independent student newspaper, where he works on visuals and the weekly news podcast. Julian is from the Bay Area and loves a good run.
Kimberly Morales
Originally from Fullerton, Calif., and now based in Chico, Kimberly is a student at California State University, Chico, where she’s earning a degree in journalism with an emphasis in news. Kimberly currently works as the news editor at her school’s newspaper, the Orion, after spending two semesters as a reporter there. Some of her hobbies include thrift shopping, scrolling through Twitter and Spotify and spending time with her friends and family.
Adriana Morga Oregel
Adriana Morga Oregel is a student at San Francisco State University, and her goal is to report and uplift stories of the Latinx community. She is a digital producer at KQED and the city news editor at the Golden Gate Express, SFSU’s student news site. She has done internships at Al Día, the Spanish publication of The Dallas Morning News, and at KQED as the Raul Ramirez Diversity Fund intern. Morga is from Tijuana, Mexico, but considers San Francisco her second home.
Sara Nevis
Sara Nevis is a recent graduate of Sacramento City College, where she received her associate’s degree in journalism, photography, chemistry and interdisciplinary studies (math and science). Now she’s a journalism major at California State University, Sacramento, where she’s the multimedia editor for the State Hornet, the student news site. She has worked as the Express photo editor at Sacramento City College and as a freelance photographer for the Sacramento Bee and the Stockton Record. Her goal is to engage readers visually with video treatments and photographs. She is from Sacramento, Calif., and likes to share the stories of individuals that would normally not have a voice.