Announcing new editors for community, education and podcast
As part of our commitment to train the next generation of journalists among the youth in Sammamish, we are excited to announce three promotions to the Sammamish Independent Editorial Board.
Ananya Gupta is our new community editor. Ms. Gupta will be a junior at Skyline High School this coming fall, and has been with The Indy since the summer of 2021, writing for both the education and community sections. She won the Indy Award for the Most Popular Story for her coverage of the Eastlake High School Patriot Day controversy, and has written extensively about students returning to schools as COVID restrictions ease, school board elections, and social entrepreneurship among local teens. Outside of The Indy, Ms. Gupta serves as a chair for the Red Cross’ Northwest Youth Council, and loves to cook and read.
She replaces Medhya Goel, who recently graduated from Eastlake High School and will be attending Stanford University in the fall.
Tanya Jain is our new education editor. Ms. Jain will also be a junior at Skyline this fall. She joined The Indy in the fall of 2021, writing for the education and community sections. She gave us an inside look at what happens to students when their teachers contract COVID-19, and how hard it was for the Class of 2022 to apply for college. She has also covered Issaquah school levies and a local nonprofit that galvanized our community to support Ukraine. When not reporting for The Indy, Ms. Jain volunteers for Skyline’s Red Cross Club, Key Club, and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). She is a fan of the outdoors, and goes hiking and biking in her free time.
She replaces Maria Langworthy, who recently graduated from Eastside Catholic High School and will be attending Trinity College Dublin in Ireland this fall.
Mehek Sathe is now the lead podcast producer and host of Indy on Air. Ms. Sathe is a rising senior at Tesla STEM High School, and has been the backbone of the podcast team since fall of 2020. She has served as the editor for nearly two years, masterfully piecing together every episode from interview recordings, sound clips and music tracks. She won the Indy Award for Best Explainer for her role on the podcast team. Some of her greatest hits include our interview with Epik CEO Robert Monster shortly after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the overview of why former mayor Don Gerend took legal action against city hall, and the debate on what public schools should be teaching on race in America. Besides podcasting, Ms. Sathe participates in Model UN and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). She also likes defeating her opponents with her sabre during fencing competitions.
She replaces Julia Gudis, who recently graduated from Eastlake and is heading to Fordham University in the fall.
The staff at The Indy is incredibly proud and excited to have these students take leadership roles for our community newspaper. Their commitment to carry the torch ensures that we can continue to provide fact-based news coverage for Sammamish, and foster active community engagement around the stories that make our city truly unique.
