The M-A Chronicle’s incredible work over the past year, which won the National Scholastic Press Association’s Online Pacemaker, wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication and ambition of the Editorial Board. With the school year wrapping up, take a moment to get to know our editors and their experiences leading this publication.
Celine Chien, Editor-in-Chief
Celine Chien joined the M-A Chronicle ready to make a difference. “I saw journalism as such a great opportunity to say so many things about the school that I learned about early on in freshman year. I was like, ‘I can try and help contribute to this publication to really take advantage of all of this opportunity,’” she said.
From writing editorials on pressing issues to leading design for The Mark and social media, Chien found her involvement in the publication to be a perfect combination of her interests—culminating in her role as Editor-in-Chief. “I really like talking to people, writing, and design. All of these things mesh so perfectly together in journalism,” she said.
One of Chien’s first articles was a feature on the local band Los Hermanos de Oro. “It really drew me into journalism. It solidified, ‘I’m definitely coming back next year’ because I established a connection with the people I interviewed beyond the article. Whenever I saw them in the halls, I’d wave at them,” she said.
Through all her contributions, Chien gained a lot in return. “Journalism surprised me in a lot of good ways. I didn’t think that people would be able to respond with such thorough answers and open themselves up to me. That was the biggest realization that the M-A Chronicle helped me get in terms of interacting with other people, but also in terms of working with managing a bunch of people—it gave me a lot of crucial leadership skills,” she said.
“I learned you really need to learn how to trust people and rely on people. You’ll get the results that you want, and you’ll get even better ones that you might not get just by yourself,” Chien said.
Chien is known as someone who is always willing to help others. “Celine is my muse. Everything that I’m able to do was honestly taught by Celine. I can always turn to her,” Sports Editor Tessa Ellingson said.
At M-A, Chien designed a mural in honor of the inaugural Ethnic Studies class and was involved in Leadership as Clubs Coordinator. Next year, she will major in English and Hispanic Studies at Columbia University, where she hopes to join an independent student newspaper.
Ben Siegel, Editor-in-Chief
“I saw Sonia Freedman’s column, The Music Moment, where she interviewed student musicians and reviewed albums, and I really wanted to do that, so I joined journalism,” Editor-in-Chief Ben Siegel said. His love for music journalism, cultivated early on through a middle school blog, led him to join the M-A Chronicle as a sophomore.
Siegel has been a prolific writer from the beginning. Starting out, he wrote a feature on Menlo Park’s Guild Theatre. “It showed me journalism beyond album reviews, but it was also still related to what I loved, music, by being a concert venue. I’ve always been really proud of the article as my first story,” he said. Siegel won the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s Best Personal Opinion: On-Campus Issue award in 2024 for his opinion advocating for Holocaust education. Other highlights include an article about East Palo Alto’s decrease in crime rates and a piece on the rise of songwriting in popular music.
“He has a lot of music knowledge, and he is really passionate about journalism, which inspires me. I love working with him,” Culture & Features Editor Celeste Zucker said.
Siegel also led design for The Mark and spearheaded the creation of the publication’s style guide with standards for grammar, spelling, specific columns, and more. “Out of everything I’ve done here, the style guide will stay as something important for the program even after I’m gone, and I’m proud of that,” he said.
Siegel has also grown personally and made connections through the publication. “When I first joined journalism, I didn’t really know anyone in my period, so I was kind of shy. As I’ve gotten to know people over the years, and as I’ve embraced leadership in journalism, I’ve made some of my closest friends through this program and now try to make sure all new journalists feel welcomed,” he said.
“Late-night Editorial Board meetings can be stressful, but they also become good memories of our group working together as a team and being collectively dedicated to the program. Our Editorial Board has really bonded and become close,” Siegel added.
Beyond journalism, Siegel has been a dedicated member of M-A’s theater program, serving as Drama Club President as well as an actor, choreographer, and assistant director for M-A productions. He looks forward to studying journalism at Boston University.
Ameya Nori, News Editor
Ameya Nori’s first experience with the M-A Chronicle was when he was interviewed for a story in 8th grade. His personal interest in reading the news pushed him to join the class in his sophomore year. “Reading the M-A Chronicle, it seemed like a really cool publication. I wanted to join it,” he said.
Since then, Nori has dabbled in many different corners of the publication, from in-depth investigative and data-driven news stories to sports coverage and features. “The only ‘Bears Doing Big Things’ that I ever wrote was about a pilot, and that was really cool to write as someone who’s interested in flying and aviation. Being able to actually expand on my interest in the publication was really fun, and I’m very proud of it,” he said.
“As News Editor, I’m able to really focus on my interest in education policy, but in the context of local and community issues,” Nori said. He said his biggest contributions have been expanding the M-A Chronicle’s coverage of district-level policy at both SUHSD and other local school districts. “Being able to go to board meetings and reporting on what happens is really interesting. I think that’s a unique part of our publication, and I’m happy that I got to lead that,” he said.
“When Ameya gets really excited about something, he throws himself fully into it. His peak is so high, and it’s really awesome to see,” Chien said.
Nori cited balancing journalism with his other responsibilities and managing the diversity of opinions across the Editorial Board as the most difficult parts of the role. “Initially, I resented them, but I’ve become grateful for those differing opinions. Oftentimes, if I still didn’t agree with something in the moment, I would definitely come to the realization later that I was totally wrong, and having that contradictory opinion is super valuable,” Nori said.
“I’m really going to miss the entire Editorial Board when I go to college. It’ll be pretty bittersweet when I realize that I won’t be able to go to any more editor meetings and won’t be able to contribute to the publication,” Nori added.
In his time at M-A, Nori enjoyed playing football. He is looking forward to studying economics and international relations at Dartmouth College in the fall, where he hopes to write for the school’s student publication.
Celeste Zucker, Culture & Features Editor
As Culture & Features Editor, Celeste Zucker has won herself a reputation for being willing to challenge cultural ideologies, dive deep into research, and lead explorative projects.
Inspired by a Washington Post subscription her grandmother gifted her and her older brother’s involvement in M-A journalism, Zucker joined the class as a sophomore. From there, she co-led Bears Doing Big Things, writing over twenty articles for the column over the course of two years. She has covered a range of topics in her reporting, from music festivals to politics. Zucker’s feature on a local bakery—one of the first stories she wrote—was named a top 10 blog post of the year by the NSPA in 2023.
“A unique part about being Culture Editor is that I cover such a variety of topics,” Zucker said. “Events, news, and sports: everyone sort of knows what that is. I’ve even talked to Mr. McBlair about ‘What is culture?’ and ‘What are features?’ and ‘How do we want to categorize this?’ That’s been an ongoing conversation on how we figure out what we want to cover, because it can be such an ambiguous category.”
Zucker’s favorite article was an interrogation of the sad girl aesthetic. “It was a really natural process. I was talking to my old editor, Sarah Weintraut, about what we wanted to put in our feminist magazine, Ms. Mark. I had been reading and thinking about aesthetics and social media, and writing that piece was a great way for me to continue to explore my ideas,” Zucker said.
As a journalist, Zucker has grown beyond just her writing. “I’ve learned how to talk to people, and that’s been a skill I’ve applied outside of journalism,” she said. “At first, I was a little scared to go around and ask students questions, but through writing a column where I literally just interviewed people, I learned how to ask better questions and figure out more about people in any setting.”
“Celeste is one of the smartest people I know. Any time we’re discussing something that might seem complex at first, she’s able to ignore the noise and identify the main idea, which has been super useful,” Nori said.
Outside of the M-A Chronicle, Zucker enjoys spending time outdoors, working out, and reading. She hopes to continue writing next year at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she will study economics.
Tessa Ellingson, Sports Editor
Tessa Ellingson ended up in journalism by product of a fluke in her sophomore year. She joined to follow in her friend’s footsteps, but that friend dropped the class and left her without the chance to transfer out. “I literally didn’t even know that I had to write stories. I thought I would just learn about journalism and read articles,” Ellingson said.
Despite her unconventional start, she developed a sharp aptitude for journalism. Between managing master copies of The Mark and landing the M-A Chronicle a reference in The New York Times, Ellingson has truly done it all.
Ellingson’s work for The Mark involved a number of sleepless nights managing last-minute edits to create an impressive final product. “I created the master for three straight Marks, which no one else had done before. I like to be able to showcase everyone’s work, and being able to put it all together in one was really special, because I could take every little part of journalism and everyone’s different creative vision and execute it into one final piece,” she said.
Most important, however, has been her role as the publication’s Sports Editor. “It’s really special that I know everything that’s going on with sports on campus. It’s a way to feel connected with the entire campus, even if you don’t individually know every single person,” Ellingson said.
The M-A Chronicle’s sports column has expanded its breadth over the last year, including the first coverage of a wrestling match and a focus on professional photography, helped by the purchase of a high-quality camera lens. But these improvements didn’t come for free, and as an editor, Ellingson’s responsibility came with sacrifice. “There was a time in September when my dad and I were driving away from the Las Vegas airport, and because I had five stories to publish that day, I was editing and publishing stories while my dad was driving,” she said.
“Tessa is super creative and is so well-rounded that she has the ability to do anything and everything,” Events Editor Lindsay Park said. “If somebody needs help, she’ll take the lead and take charge of helping them.”
Beyond her work in journalism, Ellingson raises guide dogs for the blind and is a star tennis player. She has won numerous CCS titles as part of M-A’s girls varsity team. She is preparing to play tennis and study sociology at Pitzer College in the fall, where she is interested in joining a student publication.
Lindsay Park, Events Editor
“I thought it was so cool to see so many students funnel all their energy into one piece of work,” Lindsay Park said about seeing The Mark for the first time. “That’s when I knew that I wanted to be a part of something more for the school as well.”
Since joining as a sophomore, Park worked her way up to the role of Events Editor. “We have to consider not just the school, but also local communities like Menlo Park, EPA, and Atherton. Being able to communicate those events and reach out to other surrounding communities has been nice and unique,” Park said.
Beyond her role as an editor, Park has amassed an impressive portfolio of stories. Standouts include a series of articles about teacher wage strikes. “I felt a strong connection to the story and tried to care for my teachers and make sure that their voices were well represented in the articles we wrote,” Park said.
Perhaps her most lasting contribution to the M-A Chronicle has been her diligent photography. “I’ve taken a lot of ‘Faces of M-A’ photos at the last minute when we needed them, and also taken a couple for the cover image for the past couple of Marks as well.” Park was responsible for photographing all five covers of the most recent Mark, one of her most ambitious tasks yet.
“I really attribute journalism to bringing out my talkative side, and making me more open,” Park said.
“Lindsay is very personable, and she’s very detail-oriented. She’s the person that I lean on a lot of the time when in need of anything, and she’s very dependable. Everyone knows she’s really good at taking photos,” Chien said.
Outside of journalism, Park enjoys playing oboe in orchestra and is looking forward to studying Science, Technology, and Society at Stanford University next year.
“This year, we piloted dividing into different sections and having editors pilot different areas. They were able to standardize a number of norms that allowed a lot of teams to specialize and improve. Overall, the biggest improvement from this year was the quality of the photos and the quality of the presentation,” M-A Chronicle advisor John McBlair said.
Along with the division of the board into sections, this year saw the addition of a 7th period journalism class for freshmen. “I’ve been really impressed by how well this Editorial Board mentored younger students, particularly our new freshman class,” McBlair continued. “It was really heartening to see how invested they are in the growth of others.”
“This is a particularly tight knit group of editors—very rarely would they ever work on projects alone. They’re incredibly collaborative in a way that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before,” McBlair concluded.
