SJSU journalism alumna Katie Hoedt dies at 23

By Irene Adeline Milanez NEWS EDITOR

Kathryn “Katie” Hoedt, an accomplished San Jose State journalism alumna, died on Aug. 14 at Lake Folsom near Roseville, California. She was 23.

She died from injury caused by a rope swing accident and was later pronounced dead at Sutter Roseville Medical Center, according to an Aug. 14 article from KCRA3.

Katie Hoedt’s impact on the journalism program at SJSU was evident in her many contributions to student-run publications. She served as an editor for both the Spartan Daily and Access Magazine, and as a graphic designer for The Spear.

Beth Hoedt, Katie’s mother, said her daughter had a strong passion for seeing her work come to life in print.

“She loved to see in paper and in print, what her work looked like when it was completed. That was really gratifying to her,” she said.

Her mother said her daughter’s avid reading attributed to her love for storytelling and design.

Dona Nichols, SJSU journalism adviser, said Katie would volunteer her time at The Spear as a designer for fun on top of having a course-filled schedule.

“She came to me as a freshman . . . and says, ‘I have my own online magazine. Do you know of any student publications I could work on?’” Nichols said.

Nichols said while Katie earned many awards for the journalism department during her time at

SJSU, she was incredibly humble and willing to share her talents.

“It didn’t matter what you asked her, she’d give you two things to choose from and then not even ask for credit,” Nichols said.

Christian Trujano, Fall 2020 executive editor of the Spartan Daily, said Katie was not only a quality reporter, but a caring editor.

“She never said no to helping our student journalists and always held herself – and her work – to such a high standard,”

Trujano said.

Beth Hoedt said her humility extended beyond her work, defining her interactions with those around her.

“She would laugh along with everybody, even when people were just outright making fun of her,” Beth Hoedt said. “No one could get her down. Nobody.”

Katie Hoedt’s love for journalism started in Antelope High School in Antelope, Calif. She was an editor for the high school’s newspaper, the Titan Times, where she first flourished as a graphic designer.

She graduated from SJSU in three years with honors and received her master’s in journalism from New York University (NYU) at 21 years old.

Katie Hoedt went on to do freelance reporting for the Sacramento Bee, wrote scripts for Fox News and eventually produced the 8 a.m. morning show for KCRA3.

Beth Hoedt said that Katie was “built for it” as storytelling was key in her life at a young age.

“Live breaking news stories was the hardest thing that she had to do, but that really challenged her,” Beth Hoedt said.

Andy Hoedt, Katie’s father, said before she died his daughter had two goals. She wanted to win an Emmy for broadcast news and produce for national news.

Beth Hoedt said KCRA 3 president Ariel Roblin plans to submit some of Katie Hoedt’s news stories to the Emmy board for nomination.

“You can always be in journalism and news and media and communications,” Andy Hoedt said. “Your path may change a little bit and that’s okay because you may fall in love with what your path is going to be without even realizing it . . . That’s precisely what happened to Katie.”

Beth said parts of her daughter’s body including her bone marrow and heart valves were donated to patients in need. Her father said anywhere from 30 to 50 people benefited from Katie’s donation.

“I say we have a bigger family now,” he said.

Before she died, Katie Hoedt requested for her ashes to be spread on the beach by her loved ones.

In remembering Katie Hoedt, the Spartan Daily honors her legacy of boundless creativity, dedication and humility will continue to inspire both those fortunate to be a part of her life and aspiring journalists.