OPEN ORCHARD PRODUCTIONS
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Past Members

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Grace Hebert
Journalist
Grace Hebert is a junior at Palos Verdes High School. Grace is involved with PVHS Varsity Cheer, National Charity League, Assembly, and many other activities. This will be Graces’ first year as a member of Open Orchard Productions and she is very excited!​​
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Floyd Stott
Senior Website Manager
Floyd Stott is a senior at Palos Verdes High school, he is the assistant website manager for Open Orchard Productions podcast group. He joined Open Orchard to pursue interests in media. Floyd also participates in Model United Nations, which he is the vice president of, as well as Speech and Debate, Hope for Patients, CSF, and English National Honors Society.​
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Aya Cohen
Executive Producer
Aya Cohen is a senior at PVHS.  She loves public speaking and was drawn to the podcast program her sophomore year because of her interest in broadcasting.  Aya is involved in MUN, Mock Trial, and is a proud member of OOP!  She was a member of the Varsity Tennis team until she decided to focus her time on piano, and loves to compete in piano competitions.  She adores PVHS and is so glad to be a part of this program!
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Mikayla Keshtkar
Chief Mentor
Mikayla Keshtkar is a senior at Palos Verdes High School. Mikayla joined Open Orchards Productions sophomore year to further her interest in the spoken word and journalism. She is excited to share her fellow students’ and community members’ stories. Mikayla is also a member of Tradewinds Literary Magazine and on varsity tennis.   ​
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Danielle Davidson
Journalist
Danielle Davidson is a senior at Palos Verdes High School. This is her first year of Open Orchard Productions and she is very excited to learn about podcasting and share her stories. Every summer she travels to Ireland to visit family and to honor her heritage.
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Katrina Nuttman
Journalist
Katrina is a senior at Palos Verdes High School. She is happily a new member of Open Orchard Productions. Katrina was drawn to OOP by her love for learning about others and public speaking. She hopes to use OOP as a platform to express others' and her own concerns for modern day issues in society. She is an attorney for Mock Trial as well as Fundraising Manager for Project Runway. Outside of school, she is involved in aviation, as she is training for her private pilot license at Zamperini Field. She is so excited to be a part of this program and cannot wait to learn more!
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Emily Yoon
Journalist
Emily Yoon is a senior at PVHS, and this year will be her first time being a part of Open Orchards Productions. She’s always been surrounded by loved ones who enjoy storytelling, and she, too, has a passion for it. She cannot wait to share some stories and have her voice heard! In her free time she loves making people laugh, free diving, and playing soccer.  ​
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Amelia Kaveladze
Journalist
Amelia is a senior at PV and it is her first year in OOP! She is excited to learn about podcasting and hopefully share a cool story in her podcast.
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Grace Drawer
Journalist
Junior Grace Drawer enjoys listening to unique stories spoken by others and she loves hearing the passion in their voice for a certain topic. Broadcast journalism lets these stories be discovered and shared with such a large group of people and allows for one of a kind experiences to be heard. Grace also volunteers in her community, especially with the Friendship Foundation, and plays on her high school lacrosse team.
Alexandrea Zarchy
Journalist
Alexandra is passionate about writing and telling stories, and she is extremely excited to tell stories through podcasts in Open Orchard Productions. Alexandra strongly believes in giving voices to the people who want to be heard, and cannot wait to explore people's stories through Open Orchards. Aside from OOP, Alexandra is an avid volunteer and loves learning languages.
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Ainsley Basic
Journalist
Ainsley Basic has a passion for writing, photography, and journalism. In the past, Ainsley has been involved in broadcast journalism and print journalism. She enjoys the intimacy of interviews and how much you can learn from others' experiences. Ainsley is also a member of Trade Winds Literary Magazine and Varsity Lacrosse. She hopes to continue studying journalism in college.
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Madeline Bohannon
Journalist
Maddy is new to podcasting and is very excited to be a part of Open Orchard Productions. She has always loved telling stories and is excited to further explore journalism. Maddy joined Open Orchard Productions because she wanted to meet new people on campus and learn about the stories they have to tell. She believes she’ll learn a lot this year and can’t wait to get started. Her other interests include National Charity League, and swim team.
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Taylor Connelly
Journalist
Taylor is very honored to be a part of Open Orchard Productions for her first year, as she is extremely excited to effectively tell stories through the new and exciting mode of podcasting. At Palos Verdes High School, Taylor is involved in Be The Change leadership organization, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Swim Team and is a Captain of the Varsity tennis team. Taylor is grateful for Open Orchard Productions because it gives a platform to those that wouldn’t be heard otherwise
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Catalina Murray
Journalist
Catalina Murray is a senior at Palos Verdes High School, and will be returning for her second year as a member of Open Orchards productions. She has always been passionate about discovering and telling new stories. OOP has allowed her to expand her knowledge about journalism, something she has pursued since her sophomore year by being a apart of PV’s broadcast journalism program (live from 205). In her free time Catalina loves to surf, sail, and hang out at the beach. Catalina is always looking for new adventures.
Seren Cho
Journalist
​Seren is a junior at Palos Verdes High School. She joined OOP this year to immerse herself in a different type of journalism and learn all that she can about what it takes to be a true journalist. She is proud of her Australian and Korean heritage, with her great-great grandmother being a successful female journalist and women’s activist. In her free time, Seren likes to listen to musicals and watch Game of Thrones.
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Ella Polischeck
Journalist
Ella Polischeck is a junior at Palos Verdes High School and is apart of the drama program. She believes that podcasts can tell a story that impacts and changes people’s life and to have the chance to do that is incredible. She is excited not only to share her story, but to allow other people to be heard through her podcasts.
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Emme Schaefer
Journalist
Emme Schaefer is excited to return to Open Orchards for her senior year! This is her second year being in the class, and she is eagerly anticipating making more podcasts. Emme is thankful for the opportunity to be a mentor, and share her podcast knowledge with new students in the class. She loves sharing stories, which is why she is also a member of the Triton Yearbook staff, which gives her the chance to peruse her passion of writing. In addition to this, Emme has leadership experience with outside volunteer organizations and is on varsity cross country and track.
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Eve Schwartz
Journalist
Eve Schwartz is a junior at Palos Verdes High School. In her free time she loves to volunteer at the PVLD gift shop, hang out with her friends and family, and watch Netflix.  Eve is looking forward to her first year at OOP, as she would like to learn about the people in the community and tell their stories in a way everybody can access and understand.
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Alexa Stevens
Journalist
Alexa is looking forward to her first year as an Open Orchards journalist. However, she has had journalism experience in the past, both through writing for The Point and for the Easy Reader. She aspires to have a career in writing, and hopes her participation in Open Orchards can be a step in this direction. Outside of school and journalism, Alexa is on the school tennis team and is also on a rowing team. ​
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Kaylee Watts
Journalist
Hi, my name is Kaylee Watts, and I am currently a junior at Palos Verdes High School. I am involved in the drama department, MUN, and a new member to OOP this year! I have been dancing since I was 4 years old, and in my free time, I enjoy writing poetry, going to the beach, and playing the piano.
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Katie Wilhem
Journalist
Katie enjoys listening to other people’s stories, whether it is through books, newspapers, or podcasts. Through her involvement in Open Orchard Productions, she hopes to draw listeners into her podcasts, just as she has been drawn into the stories that have inspired her.  In her free time, Katie runs on the cross country team, plays violin, and participates in Mock Trial.
Apsara Fite
Website Manager
Apsara Fite, high school junior, is one of the two website managers for Open Orchard Productions. She has been coding in a variety of computer languages since she was 11 years old, and continues to do so in her school's programming club and STEM classes. Besides coding, Apsara enjoys travelling, and has visited over 20 countries in Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
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Anika Hauser
Executive Producer
Anika Hauser is a junior at Palos Verdes High School this year and is excited for her second year as a member of Open Orchard Productions. She loves that Open Orchard Productions gives her the ability to discover untold stories and increases her understanding of others. Anika Hauser is also involved in MUN, PVIT, and PVHS Soccer. ​
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Kylie McElroy
Journalist
Kylie McElroy is a junior at Palos Verdes High School. In her free time, Kylie plays soccer for Beach FC, coaches for an AYSO boys soccer team, and volunteers for her church. In school, Kylie is a part of the Sea Queens club, plays for the varsity girls' soccer team, and is part of an AP research class. Kylie’s love for research has inspired her to join Open Orchard Productions. This is her first year in Open Orchard Productions and she is so excited to share what she comes up with. 
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Devon McVicar
Journalist
Devon McVicar is a junior at PVHS. He is involved in soccer, ASB, and the surf team. Devon prides himself on always being outgoing and he loves getting to know people. This sparked his interest in podcasting which allows a person to get one-on-one time with another person from in the community and get to bond over events that have changed them as a person! Devon is so happy to be in Open Orchards this year and is ready to get started! ​
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Rebecca Kim
Chief Mentor
Rebecca is proud and honored to be a part of Open Orchard Productions. She enjoys writing and is excited to learn more about journalism. She is intrigued by other people’s stories, and enjoys exploring the world and others through a different perspective. In her free time she figure skates competitively and this past year traveled to France to compete alongside her skating team.
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Samantha Laurin
Journalist
Samantha Laurin is a junior at Palos Verdes High School. She has been in Open Orchards Productions for two years now, and she loves this class. Samantha loves everything to do with the water, such as water polo, paddling and sailing. She hopes this class will help her broaden her aspirations to experience various career paths. ​​
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Sydney Lyle
Journalist
Sydney is a junior at Palos Verdes High school. She joined the Open Orchard Productions staff as a sophomore to explore what journalism had to offer. This year, she was appointed the advertising chairman and will be monitoring the OOP instagram as well as, increasing publicity for Open Orchard Production. Sydney has also furthered her interest in journalism by becoming a staff member for The point newspaper. She hopes that this experience will allow her to explore various career opportunities and better her writing overall. Sydney is also an editorial director and lead mentor of Press Friends. She volunteers to help elementary school students learn important writing skills and create newspapers of their work to celebrate their accomplishments.
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Sarah Liu
Journalist
Sarah is a junior at PVHS and is excited for her first year with Open Orchard Productions. She began journalism when she was in 7th grade as a Kid Reporter for Sports Illustrated Kids, profiling athletes and covering events like the Rose Bowl. Sarah is the Junior Editor of the social media account “Humans of PVHS” and the Co-Editor of News for The Point. She also currently writes for The Peninsula Panorama; and volunteers at Title I Elementary Schools through the organization Press Friends, where she guides elementary school kids through writing for their own school newspapers. In her free time, she finds exercising, traveling and experimenting with makeup to be therapeutic.
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Hallie Umrarong
Journalist​
Hallie Umrarong is a junior and is looking forward to her second year of Open Orchard Productions. OOP allows Hallie to further her interest in broadcast journalism. In addition to OOP, Hallie is also on Varsity Cheer, and on the board of Young Democrats, Black Student Union, and Project Runway.
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Alexandra Wescott
Journalist
Alexandra is a junior at PVHS. She is on the Varsity Cheer team and is involved with various clubs. She is in  National Charity League and spends much of her time volunteering with children. This will be her second year in OOP and first year as a mentor. She is excited to broaden her horizons in journalism and be listen to more educational podcasts.
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Armaan Jhangiani
Website Manager
Armaan Jhangiani is a junior at PVHS. He is a curious person who is involved in a number of clubs and classes on campus, some of which include holding a board position in CARE, GSA, Vegetarian Club, Red Cross Club.  In addition, he serves as Vice President for the Fixed-Wing UAV team in PVIT, and has received the Coach's Award for his performance on the school's volleyball team. He always is looking for new things to learn and do, which is why he has a passion for science, math, engineering, and business. Armaan is proud to be the OOP website manager and excited to keep the world up to date on the wonderful podcasts made by our amazing journalists. ​
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600 Cloyden Rd
Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274

(310) 378-8471 x43510
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  • Home
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Who We Are
    • Past Members
  • Podcasts
    • The Core
    • The Elements
    • Fresh Picked
    • The Harvest
  • Contact