High school journalists awarded for excellence by Press Democrat

The student who won top honors at this year’s Press Democrat High School Journalism Awards might not have had the chance - if she was the kind of person who took no for an answer.

But when Kate Hoover’s application to join the staff of Casa Grande’s Gaucho Gazette for her sophomore year was rejected, she made it her mission to get in.

Hoover went to adviser Athena Kautsch’s office to ask why she wasn’t approved.

“I think I gave her a pat answer, like ‘Oh, there are only a limited number of seats,’?” Kautsch recalled during Monday’s awards ceremony at The Press Democrat’s printing facility in Rohnert Park.

Kautsch said Hoover didn’t know that one of her application answers contained the adviser’s No. 1 pet peeve.

“One of the questions is ... ‘How would you improve the Gaucho Gazette?’ and Kate’s response - because she really wanted to be in the class - was, ‘Nothing. I think it’s perfect as it is.’ ... So I turned her down based on that answer.”

But then Hoover showed up again at the newspaper’s open house, this time with her dad. And she submitted a letter of recommendation not just from her English teacher, but she wrote her own, too.

“I just thought, OK, this kid has come to see me twice. She really wants it. So that’s when I thought, OK, I’ll give her a shot. And she was great,” Kautsch said.

During her time on the Gaucho Gazette’s staff, Hoover - now a senior - has put her wide-ranging talents to good use.

She’s adept at photography and writing and has taken classes in graphic design. She’s also spent three years as an intern at the Petaluma Argus-Courier.

The Gaucho Gazette’s co-editor in chief this year, the 17-year-old will head to Chapman University in the fall as a pre-communications major. She hopes to attend the Dodge Film School and specialize in documentary film.

“I love, love, love writing about social justice, so when we write editorials, I really like going in-depth on those,” she said. “We recently did one on rape culture, and we did one on hate speech. So I really like going into those rough topics and having them be heard and read by the students.”

Kautsch has been the journalism adviser at Casa Grande High School for five years. This marks the fourth year since she started that her newspaper has won the top publication-level prize.

“The students are what make (the paper) so strong,” she said. “The students motivate each other to do better work, to dig deeper, and the class really works well collaboratively.”

Hoover and the Gaucho Gazette each received $500 prizes for their work, which was judged by Press Democrat reporters and editors.

Santa Rosa High School’s student newspaper, the Santa Rosan, was runner-up. Sonoma Valley’s the Dragon’s Tale finished third.

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.