Meet 2023’s 20 up-and-coming storytellers under 20

Aidan Booker, 17

Aidan Booker is a senior at Twinsburg High School in Twinsburg, Ohio. He was on the inaugural Student Advisory Team where he helped shape SRL’s coverage in 2023. In 2023, he attended the Summer Academy in Boston. His team produced a story on the historic Nobska Lighthouse on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. This year he also pitched, produced, and edited a story about the Twinsburg Twins Day Festival in his hometown.

Alexis Schmidt, 18

Alexis Schmidt is a current Freshman at Michigan State University. In high school, she helped produce several stories including this story for our food and identity prompt. She was a 2022 Summer Academy fellow and returned as a behind-the-scenes correspondent for the 2023 Summer Academy in Boston. As a high school senior, Alexis won a Student Journalism Challenge award, along with her sister Brianna, for a story on how CTE classes are preparing students for the future. Alexis was also on the inaugural Student Advisory Team. 

Ashley He, 17

Ashley He is a senior at Upper Arlington High School in Columbus, Ohio. She was a season 3 co-host of On Our Minds, SRL’s award-winning podcast on teen mental health. She also attended SXSW EDU where she recorded a live episode of On Our Minds on the podcast stage with her co-host Tyler Pullum.

Aydin Tariq, 15

Aydin Tariq is a junior at Mattoon High School in Mattoon, Illinois. He attended the 2023 Summer Academy in Boston and helped produce a story about a traveling museum exhibit featuring the stories of 13 trailblazing Major League Baseball players. He is also the host of an upcoming podcast called We Are Generation Z highlighting the experiences of Gen Z leaders and advocates across the world. Aydin was also part of the first-ever Student Advisory Team. 

Brianna Schmidt, 18

Brianna Schmidt is a current Freshman at Michigan State University. As a high school student at Frederick V. Pankow Center, she produced several SRL stories, including this story for our food and identity prompt. She was a 2022 Summer Academy fellow where she helped her team produce a story on immigrant entrepreneurs in Phoenix. She returned to the Academy in 2023 as a behind-the-scenes correspondent in Boston. As a high school senior, Brianna won a Student Journalism Challenge award, along with her sister Alexis, for a story on how CTE classes are preparing students for the future. Brianna was also on the inaugural Student Advisory Team. 

Effie Gross, 18

Effie Gross is a senior at West Ranch High School in Stevenson Ranch, California. In 2022, she produced a witty explainer about the midterm elections for our We the Young People midterm election special. In 2023, she attended the Summer Academy as a fellow and helped her group produce a story on a group of young activists working to challenge the Stop & Shop grocery chain’s pricing practices.

Hannah Coulthurst, 17

Hannah Coulthurt is a senior at Northview High School in Covina, California. She attended the 2023 SRL summer academy in Boston and helped produce a story on the historic Nobska Lighthouse on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Hannah also produced a story about the teacher strike in her school district. She was also a production assistant on an upcoming episode of our Moments of Truth series about Instagram’s impact on friendships. 

Mahi Jariwala, 17

Mahi Jariwala is a senior at Monte Vista High School in Danville, California. She was a 2023 Summer Academy Fellow and helped her team produce a story on Boston’s Beantown Bean Fest. A skilled basketball player herself, Mahi interviewed NBA star Stephen Curry on his film Underrated. She also interviewed Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles for an episode of our podcast On Our Minds. She regularly reaches out to the SRL team with story pitches and ideas. Recently, she attended the APEC conference in San Francisco as a student reporter.

Maria Witcher, 16

Maria Witcher is a junior at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan. She attended the 2023 Summer Academy in Boston and helped produce a story on Boston’s Center for Teen Empowerment, an organization that works with teens to help them address issues in their community. She is also on the 2023-24 Student Advisory Team. Maria also spoke on a student panel at the 2023 National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan where she and other SRL alums talked about their experiences with student journalism and how it has been a powerful force in their lives. This year she was also a summer apprentice with the Detroit Free Press.

Morgan Hawkins, 16 

Morgan Hawkins is a junior at DC International School in Washington, DC. She’s helped produce several stories for SRL including this story about a first-of-its-kind public art exhibit on the National Mall. Morgan also attended the 2023 Summer Academy in Boston where she helped her team produce a story about the history of Nobska Lighthouse on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Currently, she’s working on a story with her classmates at DCI about a Georgetown University prison justice program for our Life After Prison series.

Natalie Lahr, 17 

Natalie Lahr is a recent high school graduate currently taking a gap year to pursue hands-on opportunities working in the field of radio journalism before going to college. She produced a story for On Our Minds Season 3 on trauma dumping. She weathered intense administrative pressure to reveal her source for the story – and even independently consulted the SPLC.

Poojasai Kona, 15 

Poojasai Kona is a sophomore at Frisco High School in Frisco, Texas. She was a member of the inaugural 2022-23 Student Advisory Team. During her 2023 Summer Academy Fellowship, she and her team produced a story about a museum exhibit on desegregating baseball. Poojasai produced a story for On Our Minds Season 3 about safe haven baby boxes. She is returning to the 2023-24 Student Advisory Team as the team’s Social Coordinator.

Pride David, 17 

Pride David is a senior at Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts in Buffalo, New York. She is the host of the – episode of Moments of Truth, a digital series that explores misinformation. Pride was also a 2023 Summer Academy fellow where she produced a story about an organization that teaches Boston about sustainability. Pride was featured on the SRL’s TikTok for her work during Media Literacy Week. She is also part of MediaWise’s Teen Fact Checking Network.

Raha Murtaza, 18 

Raha Murtaza is a senior at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland. She was a member of the 2022 Student Advisory Team. She also helped produce an episode of On Our Minds Season 3 about how nature helps you get outside yourself. Raha also submitted videos to several of our Rapid Response challenges.

Riona Sheikh, 17 

Riona Sheikh is a senior at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland. She attended the 2023 Summer Academy in Boston and helped produce a story about the history of Nobska Lighthouse on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 2023, she also produced a story about two teens at her school who are reimagining food waste through their organization, Compostology.

Sandeep Brijesh Pillai, 17 

Sandeep Pillai is a junior at Beaverton Academy of Science and Engineering in Beaverton, Oregon. He produced several stories for SRL including this story about a Cambodian refugee turned restaurant owner and this story about life after prison. Sandeep also attended the 2023 Summer Academy in Boston where he helped his team produce a story exploring Boston’s Thompson Island with youth environmentalists. He is on the 2023-24 Student Advisory Team and also started a SRL Club at his school.

Sarah Youssef, 16

Sarah Youssef is a junior at Westview High School in San Diego, California. She’s worked on several SRL projects including this story on celebrating her heritage with this traditional Egyptian dish and this montage from up-and-coming voters ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. Sarah also attended the 2023 Summer Academy in Boston where she helped her team produce a story on a women’s tackle football team. She is also on the 2023-24 Student Advisory Team.

Sophia Ortiz, 17

Sophia Ortiz is a junior at the Young Women’s Leadership Academy in San Antonio, Texas. She is part of MediaWise’s Teen Fact Checking Network and produced a video for SRL’s TikTok for Media Literacy Week. Sophia attended the 2023 Summer Academy in Boston where she helped her team produce a story exploring Boston’s Thompson Island with youth environmentalists.

Sriya Tallapragada, 17

Sriya Tallapragada is a junior at The Pingry School in Bernards Township, New Jersey. In 2023, she won a Student Journalism Challenge award for her print story on student mental health when returning to school after COVID-19. She was also a 2023 Summer Academy Fellow in Boston. Sriya helped her team produce a story on a group of young activists working to challenge the Stop & Shop grocery chain’s pricing practices.

Tyler Pullum, 18

Tyler Pullum is a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin. He was a season 3 co-host for On Our Minds, our podcast on teen mental health. In 2023, he attended SXSW EDU, where he recorded a live podcast episode and interviewed video creator and educator Hank Green. He was also one of five Gwen Ifill Legacy Fellows this year. For the fellowship, he produced a story on affirmative action with support from Austin PBS.