Merica Hanpanitkitkan was born on November 24, 2009, in Annandale, Virginia. She moved to Centreville, Virginia, in 2012, and has lived there ever since. She can speak two languages, English and Thai. Currently, she is taking Korean 4 honors and is learning American Sign Language in her free time.

She came to Centreville High School in 2024 as a freshman and is now a sophomore. Previously, she attended Liberty Middle School and Centre Ridge Elementary School. This is her second year in Journalism, and she enjoys both the classroom environment as well as the fun article prompts.

In school, she has always enjoyed English and history and has consistently expressed her love for writing. Both in school and outside of school, she is able to see the importance of writing everywhere, and she doesn’t see writing as a chore or an assignment. She participates in several clubs in school, such as FMLA, Key Club, Doctors Without Borders, and Operation Smile.

Outside of school, she enjoys volunteering and helping out with the Reston and Fairfax association. A few goals she has as a writer is to be able to routinely write thoughtful and detailed articles that will inform the students, staff, and entire community about upcoming and other current events.