By KELSEY MATZEN and SIMONE VAN OMMEREN-AKELMAN CASA GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL Fashion is something that characterizes a person, something which expresses the inner self. When people see Casa Grande sophomore Taylor Martinez, they see a young icon, dressed in a way that’s completely unique. “I see my style as city-like,” [...]
By CAMILLE GASSER and RACHEL JANE INSULL CASA GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL For many people, getting dressed in the morning is no more than a meaningless ritual, done out of habit and necessity. But for Casa Grande junior Valentina Gomez, choosing clothes is an adventure of fashion and self-expression that [...]
By SHERIDAN KOWTA CASA GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL It is not always glitz and glamour that provide style inspiration. Casa Grande High School senior Michelle Nguyen has an authentic style that she models after her fashion icon, Alexa Chung, and various other media sources such as blogs and magazines. “A long [...]
By JULIE JOHNSON THE PRESS DEMOCRAT Alexis Wiffler and her father were best friends. When the Rohnert Park dad, Randy Wiffler, took up winemaking, 5-year-old Alexis Wiffler helped him crush grapes in their backyard. He put her face on the label. When he took up landscape painting, Wiffler [...]
By AMANDA KRALEY MARIA CARRILLO HIGH SCHOOL, JUNIOR, 16 Junior Ariana Lease chats animatedly to the camera in her YouTube video, smiling and gesturing while she talks. As she casually pushes her bangs away from her face, an ad for TOMS shoes pops up at the bottom of the video [...]
By PAUL PAYNE THE PRESS DEMOCRAT Victoria Heyman has straight A’s, high college admission scores and a portfolio of award-winning photography. But there’s more to the 17-year-old senior in Santa Rosa High’s ArtQuest program than stellar academics and top-notch extra-curriculars. Heyman has shown her leadership by devoting [...]
By DEREK MOORE THE PRESS DEMOCRAT David Hua is a tiger at heart. If there is a need at Analy High School, the 16-year-old junior works to fill it. And always, with a smile on his face. “He always says, ‘Good morning,’ and ‘Hello,’ and calls you [...]
By JEREMY HAY THE PRESS DEMOCRAT Work, work, work, work, work. Joshua Vance does it, thinks about it, likes it. “Working is great,” he said recently after spending six hours cleaning creeks on a hot day for the Sonoma County Water Agency. In late September, after being [...]
By SOPHIE FREY MARIA CARRILLO HIGH SCHOOL On an early February morning, Spanish teacher James Baptista was writing a recommendation letter for one of his students. He went online to search for Maria Carrillo High School’s phone number and instead came across his name. Clicking the link, he [...]