Sword & Shield

2023-2024 Staff

Jonathan Rho
Co Editor-in-Chief

Jonathan Rho

Hello! My name is Jonathan, and I am so excited to be this year's Co-Editor-in-Chief. I was previously the A&E editor and podcast manager. In my free time, I like to collect vinyls and shoot film photography.

Arjun Gupta
Co Editor-in-Chief

Arjun Gupta

Hey, everyone! I'm Arjun, one of this year's Editor-in-Chiefs. As a senior, I have been involved in journalism for all four years of my high school career, and am very excited to take journalism at UHS to new heights. Whether...

Karolyn Maeda
Lead Creative Designer

Karolyn Maeda

Hi, I'm Karolyn Maeda, a senior and the lead creative designer for S&S! I'm excited to continue designing interactive and creative layouts for our magazine! I love experimenting with different mediums of art, being apart of...

Rissa Liu
Creative Designer

Rissa Liu

Hi, I am Rissa, and I am one of the creative designer this year. I am a junior, and this is my second year in Sword & Shield. I am excited to work with Karolyn to design magazine pages this year.

Dana Alsalem
Social Media Manager

Dana Alsalem

Hey everyone, I'm Dana! I'm currently a sophomore and your new social media manager. I'm looking forward to sharing our work with everyone. Don't forget to follow Sword & Shield's instagram, @uhs_swordandshield to stay updated!

Nikki Piedad
News Section Editor

Nikki Piedad

Hi! I’m Nikki Piedad, a junior and news editor. I love exploring different storytelling mediums and learning more about our school community. When I’m not busy being awesome, you'll probably find me out birding, spiraling...

Sarah Chen
News Section Editor

Sarah Chen

Hi! I'm Sarah Chen, one of the Sword and Shield's news editors. During my second year with the Sword and Shield, I look forward to informing UHS about newsworthy events and all of the school's amazing accomplishments. Some of...

Victoria Fang
Features Section Editor

Victoria Fang

Hey! I’m Victoria, a current junior, and I’m excited to be one of your features editors this year. I've been a part of the Sword & Shield for three years, spending my last two years in the news section, and I love coming...

Bruno Rodriguez Diaz
Features Section Editor

Bruno Rodriguez Diaz

I'm Bruno, a junior this year, and I'm super excited to be one of the features editors! This is my third year with the S&S, having previously edited for the Arts & Entertainment section. When I'm not writing or editing...

Ella Huang
Opinion Section Editor

Ella Huang

Hi everyone! My name is Ella Huang, I'm a senior, and one of your opinions editors this year. I look forward to collaborating with all the writers and sharing my experiences in journalism with people that are passionate in politics,...

Leyah Eagar
Opinion Section Editor

Leyah Eagar

Hi! My name is Leyah Eagar and I am so excited to be one of your Opinion Editors this year! In my free time, I enjoy reading, playing guitar, figure skating, and watching classic 80s comedies. I'm a junior and this will be my...

Nazanin Ghiassi
A & E Section Editor

Nazanin Ghiassi

Hi Uni! My name is Nazanin Ghiassi, I'm senior, and one of your A&E editors this year. I am excited for students to explore a variety of topics that interest them this year. As a violist, I can't wait to highlight the fellow...

JD Szeto
A & E Section Editor

JD Szeto

My name is JD Szeto, and I'm one of the A&E Editors this year. In my free time, I enjoy golfing and playing the piano. I'm in my Junior year, and I'm looking forward to editing for the Sword and Shield.

Leah Schulman
Sports Section Editor

Leah Schulman

Hi Uni! My name is Leah Schulman, I'm a senior, and one of your sports editors this year! As a student athlete and founder of the girls' flag football team, I have a unique perspective that I am excited to share. I cannot wait...

Vincent Tsai
Sports Section Editor

Vincent Tsai

Hello, My name is Vincent Tsai, and I am a junior and an editor this year. I'm excited to be a sports editor because I love playing sports. I am currently doing volleyball and soccer at UHS, and I was previously on the track team...

Cooper Berger
Staff Writer

Cooper Berger

Hi, I'm Cooper Berger and I will be a sports writer this year for the S&S.I am a junior and I play baseball here at Uni. I really enjoy watching and talking about sports and look forward to informing our community about all...

Christian Breen
Staff Writer

Christian Breen

Hello! My name is Christian and I am a staff writer under the Arts & Entertainment section. I am a sophomore and I enjoy reading and writing. I look forward to continuing my journey in Journalism this year and in writing articles....

Raon Suh
Staff Writer

Raon Suh

Hey, I'm Raon. I am a sophomore and staff writer for A&E. I love music, movies, philosophy, and politics. I really look forward to writing articles that hopefully entertain the student body this year!

Rodin Behravan
Staff Writer

Rodin Behravan

Hi guys! I'm Rodin, a Arts and Entertainment Journalist this year. As a Junior, this is my second year being involved with the Sword and Shield, and I'm excited to write about everything at Uni this year! In my free time, you...

Anna McClendon
Staff Writer

Anna McClendon

Hi! My name is Anna McClendon and as a senior, I'm looking forward to spending my last year investigating different aspects of Uni as new opinion writer for Sword and Shield. In my free time I love to write, read, and create art...

Siena Mellor
Staff Writer

Siena Mellor

Hey Uni! My name is Siena Mellor, I'm a junior and I'll be one of your opinions writers this year. Some cool stuff about me is that I love to read and write, especially poetry, I paint almost every day, and I have two cats (Tapioca...

Yihan Wang
Staff Writer

Yihan Wang

Hello! My name is Yihan Wang and this is my first year in advanced journalism. I am currently a staff writer for the Features section. In my free time, I love to write creative stories, especially during gloomy weather. Besides...

Matthew Feng
Staff Writer

Matthew Feng

Hi! My name is Matthew Feng, and I'm a staff writer for features and a sophomore. Outside of S&S, I run with UHS's cross-country and track team, and I'm a part of the school's Ocean Science Bowl team. I'm looking forward to...

Anika Denny
Staff Writer

Anika Denny

Hi! I’m Anika, and I am thrilled to be a News writer at the S&S during my junior year at Uni. This is my first year of advanced journalism so I am really looking forward to informing UHS about hot topics in the news and...

Phuong Lam
Staff Writer

Phuong Lam

Hi, I am Phuong Lam, one of the news writers this year. I am a junior and I look forward to writing and exploring current events. This is my first year with the Sword & Shield and in my free time I love to read books and draw.

Faris Harb
Staff Writer

Faris Harb

My name is Faris Harb and I am in 11th grade. I am part of the News Staff. In my free time I like to play basketball.

Hanin Alyazidi
Staff Writer

Hanin Alyazidi

My name is Hanin Alyazidi, I'm a Sophomore that is currently a writer in the News section. I'm looking forward to meeting new people and making great memories this year. I enjoy hanging out with friends and family in my free time.

Evelyn Hwang
Staff Writer

Evelyn Hwang

Hi everyone, I'm Evelyn and I'm a sophomore this year. I am a writer for the Sword and Shield and I like to play video games in my free time. I play for the school's varsity tennis team and am aiming to play college tennis.

Daniel Niktash
Staff Writer

Daniel Niktash

Hello everyone, my name is Daniel Niktash. I am a junior and one of the A&E staff this year. I really enjoy playing the piano and tennis! I am looking forward to attending games and events as well as contributing to the Sword...

Sam Sperling
Staff Writer

Sam Sperling

Hey all, I'm a senior staff member working as one of the sports writers this year! Outside of S&S, you can find me on the field Friday nights in the fall playing football or buried in my computer as the design editor for this...

Shay Eldridge
Staff Writer

Shay Eldridge

Hi I'm shay and I am a senior sports writer this year for sword and shield. I have been a huge sports fan my whole life and I currently play for the baseball team here at university high school. This year I'm looking forward to...

Angelina Yan
Staff Writer

Angelina Yan

Hey, name is Angelina, a sophomore and staff writer for A&E this year! This year, I look forward to writing about books, TV shows, and more. Outside of Sword and Shield, you can find me drawing (instead of studying) or at...

Luba Al-Khalili
Staff Writer

Luba Al-Khalili

As a 16 year-old high school senior, I am honored to join UHS Sword & Shield as a sports staff writer while actively being the CEO of various non-profit foundations and corporations based in Irvine, California. Having already...

Davey Hirota
Staff Writer

Davey Hirota

Hello, my name is Davey. I am a sophomore and an opinion writer. I am thrilled to bring my articles to this year's Sword & Shield!

Arthur Cinquin
Staff Writer

Arthur Cinquin

Hi, I'm a senior in the opinion writing section. I look forward to exploring and learning about this field.

Emily Butler
Staff Writer

Emily Butler

Hi! I'm Emily Butler, a junior at Uni, and a features writer this year! A little bit about me: I've been a competitive figure skater since I was five, and I skate 3-4 hours a day. I'm also an avid reader(my favorite book series...

Ishan Vannadil
Staff Writer

Ishan Vannadil

Hey, my name is Ishan. I am a sophomore and a features writer this year. In my free time, I play soccer for both school and club. I am excited to contribute to the Sword & Shield this year!

Hailey Chen
Staff Writer

Hailey Chen

Hi, my name is Hailey Chen, and I am a junior as well as one of the features writers this year. I look forward to participating in more school events and being more involved in our school's clubs. In my free time, I enjoy drawing,...

Eithar Takesh
Staff Writer

Eithar Takesh

Hi everyone! This is my 3rd year on the S&S and I’m extremely excited to be one of your sports writers this year! As Sports Commissioner, it’s my job to show recognition to all sports and what better way to do that then...

Jerry Hu
Staff Writer

Jerry Hu

Gotta stay real this year

Sophia Choi
Staff Writer

Sophia Choi

Hi I’m Sophia Choi and I’m a senior writing for the sports section! I love to hang out with friends and listen to music in my free time. I’m looking forward to writing about a large variety of topics and exploring new subjects!

Elizabeth Wu
Staff Writer

Elizabeth Wu

Hi all! I'm Elizabeth, and I'm a writer for the News section. This is my second year with the Sword & Shield, and I am thrilled to be apart of the newspaper staff again. I can't wait to share some important news, from on-campus...

Angela Hou
Staff Writer

Angela Hou

Hello! I'm Angela and I will be writing in the News section for S&S this year. This is my second year as a S&S staff writer and I'm excited to keep you updated with interesting and insightful news. In my leisure time,...

Dylan Keil
Staff Writer

Dylan Keil

Hello, my name is Dylan, and I work in the A&E section of the Sword And Shield journal. In my free time I enjoy playing video games, bladesmithing, and taking long walks.

Silas Bryan
Staff Writer

Silas Bryan

Travel fuels my creativity. Born in one state; raised in all 50.

Sodongoo Sodtuya (Soto)
Staff Writer

Sodongoo Sodtuya (Soto)

Hey there! I'm Soto, your local sophomore and staff writer. Politics is my jam, speech & debate is my thing, Model United Nations is my playground, and being on stage is where I really shine! I'm the kind of person who never...

Theertha Hariharan Arulmozhi
Staff Writer

Theertha Hariharan Arulmozhi

Hello Trojans! My name is Theertha Hariharan Arulmozhi and I'm a sophomore this year. This is my first year in Advanced Journalism and I'm a staff writer! In my free time, I enjoy reading, playing with my dog, and spending time...

Roshana Akhtari
P & G Section Editor

Roshana Akhtari

This is my second year as P&G Editor! I love taking photos and creating graphics for the S&S and capturing moments at school events!

Veronica Rivera
Photographer/Graphic Artist

Veronica Rivera

My name is Veronica Rivera and this is my first year being a part of Sword and Shield. I am a junior and a P & G staff member. I love film and video production.

Deea Gandotra
Photographer/Graphic Artist

Deea Gandotra

Hey Uni! My name is Deea Gandotra, I’m a sophomore, and one of your Sword and Shield photographers this year! I’m so excited to capture exciting events and memories throughout the year and share them with our Trojan community…...

Arta Bolourchian
Photographer/Graphic Artist

Arta Bolourchian

Im a sophomore 10th, I am a staff photographer and I am in P&G. What I look forward to this year is to improve my skills in photography and honesty get good grades on my other classes too. During my free time i do love to...

Malea Weaver
Photographer/Graphic Artist

Malea Weaver

Hi my name is Malea, I am your photo and graphics artist this year! This will be my second year in P&G and I am so excited! I am definitely looking forward to a new year with exciting events to capture.

Natalie Torres
Photographer/Graphic Artist

Natalie Torres

Hi my name is Natalie Torres and I am in 11th grade! Continuing the pattern from last year, I am apart of the Photos and Graphics section at S&S once again. Aside from photography, some things I enjoy include going to the...

Ryan Noorizadeh
Podcast Content Manager

Ryan Noorizadeh

Hi, I'm Ryan. I'm a Senior, and I'm the Podcast Content Manager this year. I used to do other things, but those don't really matter now.

Aysa Mir
Podcast Host

Aysa Mir

Hey! I'm Aysa, I'm a sophomore, and I'll be a podcast host this year. I'm so excited to meet and work with so many new people! In my free time, I love writing and I play a lot of soccer. As of September, my two favorite songs...

Nika Ghassvarian
Podcast Host

Nika Ghassvarian

Hello everyone, Im Nika Ghassvarian this year I am a sophmore and a podcast host for S&S. In my free time I like to write, read, and bake. My favorite artists are SZA, The Weeknd, and Destroy Lonely.

Dartagnan Osier
Podcast Editing Manager

D’artagnan Osier

Hi, my name is D'artagnan Osier, and I'll be a senior this year. This year on journalism, I'll be serving as the Podcast Editing Manager! With it being my fourth year on journalism, I'm excited to help the podcast team grow and...

Ivan Chen
Podcast Editor

Ivan Chen

Hello, my name is Ivan and I am in 11th grade. I am an podcast staff. I like pandas.

Alexandra Suttner
Publicity Coordinator

Alexandra Suttner

My name is Alexandra Suttner, and I am the Publicity Coordinator. This is my fourth year with the Sword & Shield. I am looking forward to being apart of this class again and can't wait to see what this year brings.

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