Vanessa Masterson is a senior at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, California, and a student journalist with published work dating to 2017. She currently serves as Senior Executive Opinion Editor at La Vista News, the school's award-winning student paper, after a junior year as Executive Features Editor.

Before Mira Costa, Vanessa reported and edited at Tideline News, the student publication of Palisades Charter High School, where she earned two Scholastic Art & Writing Silver Key awards for opinion writing. Following the Palisades fire and her move to Manhattan Beach, she continued her journalism at Mira Costa. She is also the creator and writer of Dear Vany, a long-running advice column in the Palisadian-Post that began on January 24, 2019 — and a Junior Reporter for the same paper since 2017. This portfolio brings together her published writing, editorial roles, and commitment to community journalism.