Embedded Files
I applied for my role as co-EIC from a different class period than the rest of The Paly Voice staff, which presented unique challenges. As a result, I made a deliberate effort to build individual connections with each staff member and made a point to write at least one story alongside each of them before running for a leadership position. I initiated several ongoing projects during this time, including developing an app version of our website, drafting new policies for takedown requests, and drafting policies for AI usage in journalism in response to the current political climate.
I still make it a priority to be an approachable co-EIC and have taken steps to ensure that other staff members feel comfortable asking me questions and share concerns. While The Paly Voice has the smallest staff of Paly’s eight publications, we remain a resilient team because of effective communication between reporters and editors.
Leadership
Leadership
As a senior, I have been more involved in leading classes than in previous years. A typical day on The Paly Voice goes as follows:
1. In the first 5-10 minutes of class, we listen to NPR's national broadcast and our local broadcast, KQED. I share my audio on my computer for this and am almost always doing so at the front of the classroom.
2. Afterwards, my co-EIC and I instruct the staff to read the news for five minutes. We highly encourage our staff to use the media bias chart to help them balance their perspectives.
3. After the staff quietly reads the news, we ask everyone to share with their neighbors what they found interesting, alarming, or noteworthy. We then broaden the discussion to the whole class. Depending on the most pressing topics, I guide the conversation and ask reporters how we can cover these events through a local lens.
4. When the discussion ends, there are typically a series of announcements that the EICs and journalism adviser make. During this time, I started doing 'Shout-outs' where we highlight something positive that a staff member has done recently. For example, a new staff member and news editor ended up being the only two reporters from our publication to attend an important school board meeting. Their reporting deserved recognition and, by highlighting their effort, they can tell the rest of the staff about the meeting.
5. At the start of each week, The Paly Voice does a story idea brainstorming exercise that is outlined in the reporting and writing page of this portfolio. During class time on different days we will also occasionally have guest speakers. Last semester I invited two school board members on separate occasions to come sit in for an interview with the class. Additionally, I will request staff members to give presentations on other specific aspects of journalism including photography, news writing specifically, covering a protest, and more.
6. Planning class takes work and there are a lot of moving parts. Therefore, my co-EIC and I created an agenda that we frequently keep updated with activities, announcements, and action items.
My co-EIC and I created The Paly Voice weekly agenda for second semester of our senior year.
This is the Paly Voice story idea weekly spreadsheet.
The Paly Voice Agenda and NPR/KQED playing at the start of class.
The class is discussing the news after quietly reading for a few minutes. (Ava Knapp is in front of the class, walking closer to the camera.)
This is an email I sent to the entire Palo Alto Unified School District board about their availability to visit The Paly Voice to answer the staff's questions.
I sent an email to PAUSD board member Shana Segal about coming into The Paly Voice class as a guest speaker following my invitation.
This is an email with PAUSD board member Allison Kamhi about coming into The Paly Voice class as a guest speaker after I invited her.
This is email correspondence with PAUSD Superintendent Don Austin’s secretary to coordinate his visit to The Paly Voice following my invitation.
Keeping comfortable communication with my staff was one of my biggest priorities even before becoming co-EIC. When running for the position, my schedule conflicted with my publication class period so I was in a completely different class during work time. Therefore, I worked hard to build connections with the new staff members. In my cover letter for EIC, I emphasized that I would prioritize maintaining open communication with my peers since I found it incredibly valuable from my experience in a different class. Currently, as an editor, my co-EIC and I have decided to conduct regular check-ins with all staff members to get an update on what they are working on, how they are feeling, and how their 'News Beat' is progressing. Following the check-in, we send emails to each individual recapping our discussion and recommending some goals they should have moving forward.
When The Paly Voice gains new staff members, it is the editors’ responsibility to ensure their transition into the publication is smooth. My co–editor-in-chief and I created a presentation outlining key information about The Paly Voice and how it operates, which we presented during the first week of the second semester in 2026. We also shared a comprehensive document with guidelines and advice on writing stories for The Paly Voice. These resources were not as clearly accessible to me when I first joined the publication, so one of my primary goals at the start of the semester was to ensure that incoming sophomores felt supported and had multiple resources they could rely on to answer their questions.
AP style is a crucial part of the beginning journalism curriculum and accounts for a large part of the edits made on The Paly Voice stories. I wasn’t always strong in AP style and didn’t fully understand its importance as a sophomore. However, through my experience as an editor, I’ve learned how important consistency and uniformity are when writing and reporting. To help reinforce these standards, I created an AP style quiz during the first semester of my senior year and presented it to the Incubator and The Paly Voice staff to remind and address common AP style mistakes.
To prepare for guest speakers, it’s important that as an editor and leader I’m familiar with reporters’ questions and objectives for major interviews. I typically send out a Google Form the day before a guest speaker visit so reporters can share with me the questions they plan to ask and the story they intend to write based on the speaker. When PAUSD superintendent Don Austin visited as a guest speaker, I encouraged reporters to submit their questions in advance through the form.
The Paly Voice faces a unique structural challenge each fall semester, as the class is combined with Paly's Incubator program. The Incubator includes publications like Anthro! (social activism), Ink (literary arts), Veritas (science), Via Verde (travel), and Proof (photography). As a result, the class has a large number of editors, each with different goals and deadlines.
Being co-EIC during this first semester required establishing clear systems to support both The Paly Voice staff and the Incubator. Editors created a group chat and a daily agenda to help organize assignments and streamline communication. While these systems were effective, the fast-paced structure of the class often required real-time problem-solving. I frequently use my computer for NPR audio. Therefore, I was often at the front of the class when this period began. This led almost all of the reporters to feel comfortable approaching me with questions about The Paly Voice and even the Incubator.
Although the environment was chaotic, the experience strengthened my ability to work well under pressure. Acting as a point person for staff and editors reinforced my capacity to provide clarity, make quick decisions, and support others in a high-demand newsroom setting.
I am communicating with other Incubator editors about questions for the upcoming week.
This is brainstorming with other Incubator editors about an ad selling a field trip.
This is the The Paly Voice and Incubator combined agenda for the fall semester.
Communication with my co-EIC is essential to The Paly Voice’s efficiency. We began working together sophomore-year in Beginning Journalism, later serving as The Paly Voice's only news editors, and eventually as co-editors-in-chief during our junior and senior years. Though we did not start as super close friends, consistent collaboration strengthened both our partnership and our friendship. We plan lessons and agendas daily through text in order to ensure our class runs smoothly. That steady coordination is one of the things that makes our leadership effective.
My co-EIC and I are planning how to incorporate more sports coverage.
We are talking about how to get more staff to attend an upcoming school board meeting.
We are brainstorming what we should do for the upcoming class.
We are deciding if we should add an Editor's Note to a story.
We are brainstorming what the new staff press passes should look like.
I am asking for advice and discussing changes to make on a controversial story.
We are coordinating how to help a sports photographer take photos for The Paly Voice for a football game.
This is a conversation about story ideas that my co-EIC and I came up with for the start of the 2025-2026 school year.
We are figuring out how to meet up with The Paly Voice staff before the start of the 2025-2026 school year.
As a networker and leader, I have built connections outside of my school journalism program. I founded my own piano lesson business, where I teach elementary school students piano. One of my fifth-grade students expressed an interest in broadcast journalism and storytelling. I offered to introduce her to the fundamentals of journalism and support her in developing a reporting project. While this effort is still in its early stages, I am optimistic about its success based on her growth and dedication as a pianist. I have developed a weekly lesson plan and intend to mentor her using an adapted version of my beginning journalism curriculum. Currently, our plan is for her to review the upcoming play Beetlejuice in April. I have helped her create a mini portfolio to develop the story, and I will guide her in both A-roll and B-roll filming so she is prepared for her theater visit.
Lesson plan for piano/new journalism student:This is my lesson plan document for the student.
This is the student's in-progress mini journalism portfolio.
Team Building
Team Building
“When Ava wants to get something done, not only does she gets it done, but she gets it done first. She really does love journalism so much and is an inspiration to the newsroom.
— Joy Tan, The Paly Voice Managing Editor and Director of Visual Operations & Business
“Every time I see her in the morning, I see her working on her journalism portfolio or showing me the new email chain with [PAUSD Superintendent] Don Austin. That’s how committed I know she is.
— Veronica Qiu, The Paly Voice Co-Editor-in-Chief
Quotes above pulled from this story: https://palyvoice.com/187044/features/celebrating-one-of-our-own-ava-knapp-named-state-journalist-of-the-year/
In order to build a successful team, it is important to make the environment enjoyable and inclusive. At the start of my junior year, reporters and editors made a point to attend the first football game of the season together, bringing pizza and merchandise to share with attendees. During the game, I helped guide reporters covering the event by offering tips, while also recording videos and taking photos for Instagram posts. This initiative, started by previous EICs, emphasized the importance of inclusion. I continued this effort at the start of my senior year. When The Paly Voice shared a newsroom with Incubator reporters, I made a point to include photos of each staff member from both publications on our profile homepage. This has helped each reporter feel welcome to continue writing for The Paly Voice even though, in the second semester, the classes are separate.
This is the The Paly Voice table and reporters at Viking Stadium during the first football game of the 2024 year. (Far left: Ava Knapp)
This is the The Paly Voice staff profile page, including Voice members and Paly’s Incubator members.
Press passes were used much more frequently by The Paly Voice staff before I joined. The 2025 leadership never got around to making updated passes, so I had to keep using the one from my sophomore year. Now, more than half the staff doesn’t even have their own pass, and many of the current seniors have either lost or damaged their pass since sophomore year. At the first football game of the 2025-2026 school year, I created a press pass from scratch, with help from my co-EIC, for one of our photographers. After the upcoming leadership selections, I plan to create and distribute press passes for each newly selected editor — something they should have had a long time ago.
This is a onversation with my co-EIC about the new press passes.
I shared my second draft of the new press pass with my co-EIC.
These are press passes I created for 2026. They still need to be printed out.
This is my press pass from my sophomore year.
One of the best ways to build a strong team is by incorporating elements of fun. The Paly Voice hosts a pancake or waffle day at least once a semester, which gives staff members an opportunity to hang out and socialize instead of strictly focusing on work. Even while we’re working, I have made it a priority to emphasize a safe and fun environment for both new and experienced reporters. At the start of second semester 2026, my co-EIC and I made a point to celebrate two editors’ birthdays with sweet treats for the class. Outside of The Paly Voice, my involvement with my high school’s journalism program has allowed me to make connections with other publications through participating in production nights with Paly Incubator and attending convention trips to places like Seattle and Boston. I think these efforts to have fun have made journalism more collaborative, and our work is improving because people feel more comfortable communicating with one another.
I collaborated with a Paly Incubator reporter about the wording in the photo caption for her InDesign spread. Photo Credit: William Xue.
A few Paly Voice editors take a selfie before class. Photo Credit: Veronica Qiu
The Paly Voice is making pancakes for a celebration after an editing exam. Photo Credit: Sophie Zhang
I took a photo with other Palo Alto High School journalism students during the Seattle JEA convention in April 2025.
I took a photo with Paly Voice and Paly Incubator editors during our fall Spirit Week. Photo Credit: Veronica Qiu
A Paly Voice managing editor handed out some pancakes to other reporters. Photo Credit: Sophie Zhang
I have become the main point of contact as an editor since I am often leading classroom discussions and keeping the team informed through frequent Slack updates about upcoming events and announcements. As a result, many reporters from both Paly’s Incubator and The Paly Voice reach out to me individually for guidance on their stories, reporting standards, or questions about sources and content. I prioritize being responsive and supportive of reporters online and in-person, which I believe has made me more approachable to new staff members as well.
This is a conversation with a new staff member about working on her journalism portfolio.
This is a conversation with a new staff member about getting edits for a story.
This is a conversation with a new staff member about reporting on two volleyball stories.
I encouraged staff members to prepare questions for an upcoming guest speaker.
I encouraged staff members to prepare for upcoming guest speakers.
This is communication with two Voice reporters about coverage on the school board separation from the current superintendent.
I shared with the new staff the Story Idea Spreadsheet.
I encouraged staff members to get to the school board meeting as soon as possible.
A conversation with a Paly Voice reporter/Incubator editor about a story idea.
A conversation with an Incubator and Paly Voice photographer about Spirit Week visual coverage.
A conversation with a Paly Voice reporter/Incubator editor about a story idea.
A conversation with a Paly Voice news editor about a school board meeting that evening.
A conversation with The Paly Voice culture editor about a story idea.
A conversation with a Paly Voice news editor about a story idea.
As an editor and leader, I prioritize staying connected with new staff members and section editors. At the start of the year, The Paly Voice asked the new staff to fill out a Google Form indicating the types of stories they’re interested in writing. This helps the EICs better understand their strengths and goals. Over the summer, we also have a Zoom call with rising juniors to answer their questions about joining the Incubator class or stepping into section editor roles. These check-ins allow me to see where the staff stands while also creating space for them to share.
A document with Paly Voice incoming editors' availability to meet.
Spirit Week is one of Palo Alto High School’s most anticipated annual events and a major coverage priority for The Paly Voice in the days leading up to the homecoming game and dance. The week requires consistent and timely reporting to ensure each activity is documented while student interest is highest. As co-EIC, I emphasized clear deadlines and rapid turnaround for each assignment, stressing that coverage of earlier events needed to be published before later activities began. Reporters and photographers met those expectations throughout the week, coordinating coverage across multiple events each day. As a result, The Paly Voice produced comprehensive and timely coverage of Spirit Week 2025, making it perhaps some of the publication’s strongest Spirit Week coverage in recent years. Below are all of the stories that The Paly Voice wrote on Spirit Week 2025. Videos are embedded.
Every year, The Paly Voice publishes reviews of each film nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. As an editor this year, I not only wrote one of the reviews but also coordinated with reporters covering the other nine films to ensure the package was published before the awards ceremony. Through effective communication with the features editors and reporters, we produced a polished and timely final product.
Editing
Editing
As the previous news editor and the current co-EIC, I have edited over 50 stories in the past few years and have improved on providing writers with helpful feedback. Being an editor has helped me to better understand the rules of AP Style and structural differences between news, sports stories, reviews, profiles, and opinions. When there is breaking news, I always need to be ready for a story that requires edits. The speed and efficiency of my editing continue to improve.
1.
On The Paly Voice, we typically go through three rounds of edits from fellow staff members before having our journalism advisor look over the story. We communicate via Slack and indicate which round of edits we request . An editor acknowledges that they will take the edits with a thumbs up emoji and communicates that they have finished editing with a chicken-leg emoji and typically a direct message to the writer so they are notified.
2.
When editing, editors leave comments and suggestions in double brackets. In the third round of edits, the edits are usually minor and simple AP style or grammatical corrections. However, sometimes during the first round, the stories need more drastic changes including inverted pyramid adjustments, changes in sourcing, and requests for more reporting to find missing content. Our publication has section editors, managing editors, EICs, and our journalism advisor, all of whom have the ability to recommend changes and edits to a story.
After editing a story, I leave detailed comments at the end to guide the reporter when larger revisions are needed. This type of in-depth feedback was not as common when I first started at The Paly Voice, so I’ve made it a priority to provide more comprehensive guidance to newer reporters to help them improve more quickly.
3.
Once a reporter goes through three rounds of staff edits, the story is sent to the journalism adviser, who provides suggestions on the draft before the reporter can ask for publishing.
4.
Finally, the story gets sent back to the EICs who review it one more time before publishing on our website. On Slack, the reporter will request publishing. Occasionally, a reporter forgets to send our journalism adviser's edits to the EIC which I need to review before publishing.
5.
Another aspect of this process is posting each story we publish on Instagram. For this, we use Canva to create Instagram posts, and then an EIC — the person with access to the publication’s Instagram — can post on our profile.
Editor-in-chief application
Editor-in-chief application
The leadership selection for an editor position requires an extensive application process. Interested applicants need to write a cover letter to the current EICs and the journalism adviser; update and submit their journalism portfolio; take an editing exam; participate in individual interviews with current EICs; recite their speech in front of the class; and for rising seniors, answer separate free-response questions. Last year, the process also included a “fishbowl” discussion, in which I discussed six controversial questions with fellow juniors competing for an editor position. The process is extensive but important, as it sets expectations for the type of work required of a publication leader. I was in a unique position because I was running for a position while not actually in The Paly Voice’s class period due to scheduling conflicts. As a result, I had to work extra hard to build connections with new staff members and prove myself a worthy candidate. My efforts ultimately resulted in my selection for co-EIC.
This is the leadership team selection document that all current staff members will complete during the spring of 2026. As a co-EIC this year, my fellow co-EIC and I have updated the guidelines to help determine how each candidate will fit into the leadership team once we graduate. We still need to create new “fishbowl” discussion questions for the upcoming selection process.
Before becoming eligible for the leadership honors class, all juniors are required to read a leadership book, including one by Brendon Burchard, as well as another leadership title of their choice. Each student then completes a detailed reflection form analyzing the book’s ideas and considering how those concepts can shape their leadership in the year ahead. As a co-EIC, I frequently draw on lessons from these readings, especially the “6 E’s” framework — Envision, Enlist, Embody, Empower, Evaluate, and Encourage. These ideas continue to guide how I lead and support my staff.
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kaneman.
The Student Leadership Guide by Brendon Burchard.
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