Gallery • 6 Photos

Kensie Pao

Former Paly journalism teacher Esther Wojcicki speaks to the audience about her time at Palo Alto High School. Before the MAC opened journalism students had to work in portable classrooms.

Hundreds of students, teachers, parents and alumni gather into the Media Arts Center to celebrate its 10th anniversary on Feb. 26 at Palo Alto High School. Balloons are everywhere and the smell of the grazing table brings a fresh aroma to the building. Guests mingle. Chatter and laughter are heard as old friends reunite. Some guests sit down at the tables and open the brochure or read the 52-page magazine created specifically for the event.

The event, which ran about for two and a half hours, included awards, grants and more were presented. 

The Media Arts Center — also known as the MAC — opened in 2014 following the journalism program’s rapid expansion. The program has come a long way since its humble beginnings. 

Former Palo Alto High School teacher and InFocus adviser Mike McNulty taught right up until the opening of the MAC, and he said has seen a noticeable shift in the campus ever since the opening.

“It [the opening of the MAC] was unbelievable when it happened,” McNulty said. “It lifted the whole campus. … It has become one of the hubs of the campus. I’m so happy to see everything working like it does.” 

Since its opening, the MAC has served as one of the building blocks that has turned this program into one of the biggest in the nation. 

Over the past couple of months, more than 60 students have meticulously planned the event, from the party planning to the production of a special edition 52-page magazine. 

Students Estelle Dufour, Meryem Orazova and Vincent Wong led the two-hour event as emcees and presented a podcast and video package. Eight MAC Booster Spark Grants were also awarded to students for projects ranging from documentaries to short magazines.

A panel hosted by former Paly journalism teacher Esther Wojcicki featured six former Paly journalists from different publications as they discussed their time in Paly journalism and beyond. 

In addition to all the celebrations, the following day, Paly won yet another award. Journalism Education Association awarded Paly and 15 other schools with the 2025 First Amendment Press Freedom Award.

Arjun Bharat, an online editor-in-chief of Viking Magazine, shares some of the same feelings towards the MAC that McNulty did.

“It [The MAC] feels like a second home to me,” Bharat said. “All the people are so nice and excited about journalism. … The MAC is probably the best place on Paly campus.” 

The Spark Grants Awards were as follows:

From Chalkboards to Chatbots

Create a documentary showcasing the potential benefits of of AI in journalism classrooms

Harrison Lan & Keerthi Raj

AVID Student Guidebook

Provide advice from older AVID students to younger first-generation students

Talia Boneh, Ria Mirchandani, Amalia Tormala, Sophia Zhang

Biz Buzz

Create a magazine focused on teen innovators and their small businesses

Ananya Adya

Documenting the MAC

Create a 15-minute documentary exploring the history of the Paly Media Arts Center

Om Rajan & Neel Satyavolu

Humans of Paly

Share unique and underrepresented stories from the Paly Class of 2026

Chloe Huang & Kensie Pao

Paly Tiny Desk

Celebrate Paly’s video, music, art, and studio performance artists

Cindy Liang, Divya Pabba, Priya Tamura

Roots and Resilience

Create a documentary featuring local family-owned businesses

Shreyas Shashi & Augustus Soedarmono 

Sports Photography

Photograph a wide range of Paly sports teams for social media and printed photo galleries

Shaurya Thummalapalli