APPLICATION

This scholarship awards $2,000 to an undergraduate student of Asian American Pacific Islander descent pursuing sports journalism as a career. Applicants will be judged on academic and journalistic achievement, financial need, a strong commitment to a sports journalism career and dedication to AAJA’s mission. 

  • Applicants be a current member of AAJA. Students can join at www.aaja.org/join for $25
  • Applicants must be an undergraduate student enrolled full-time with at least 12 credit units each semester at a junior college or university located in the United States
  • Applicants be of Asian American Pacific Islander descent 
  • Applicants must be currently taking or planning to take journalism courses and/or pursuing sports journalism as a career
  • Applicants must have a minimum 3.0 GPA
  • The selected scholarship recipient must commit to a minimum of five hours of volunteer work for the AAJA Sports Task Force, preferably before and at the next annual AAJA Convention
  • The winner must use the scholarship funds to directly support or advance their education. Potential expenses include tuition, room and board, textbooks or other course equipment or materials. The recipient must follow up with the Sports Task Force within 60 days of receipt of the scholarship to identify how they spent the fund
Apply Here By February 15, 2024

The scholarship is made possible thanks to AAJA’s Sports Task Force and a yearly donation by Al Young.

About Al Young

Al Young is an award-winning journalist who blazed many trails for Asian American sports journalists. Young was the nation’s first Asian American sportswriter at a metro daily newspaper and the first to cover the NFL. He also wrote the first weekly column in the country, focusing on athletes, personalities and trends in women’s sports.

Young’s four-decade long career includes positions as a writer and editor at the Boston Globe, USA Today, the New York Daily News, the New Haven (CT) Register and Bridgeport (CT) Post-Telegram.

In 2010, AAJA named Young an “Asian American Pioneer in U.S. journalism.” He is a past president of AAJA’s Washington, D.C. chapter. Retiring in 2013 from the Boston Globe, Young most recently was the advisor to the student newspaper at Quincy College in Massachusetts.

About The AAJA Sports Task Force

The AAJA Sports Task Force elevates the voices of Asian Americans in sports and encourages future Asian American sports journalists through mentorship and scholarship opportunities. At times, sports issues lead newscasts and make headlines across traditional news outlets. What is often lacking in this coverage, and sports journalism in general, is the perspective of Asian Americans. This AAJA Sports Task Force scholarship is one way to turn the tide. For more about the AAJA Sports Task Force, visit sportstaskforce.com.

Questions? Email support@aaja.org.

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