The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is proud to announce the recipients of our Fall/Winter 2025 scholarships, fellowships, and internships. These opportunities support students and emerging journalists by providing hands-on experience and financial support as they pursue careers in journalism and media. Thank you to our judges and sponsors.
White House Correspondents’ Association
This scholarship is co-sponsored by the WHCA and the Asian American Journalists Association.
RECIPIENT: Alicia Tang
Alicia is an undergraduate student studying journalism and economics at Northwestern University. She recently interned at Bloomberg News as a workplace and labor reporter, documenting the tug-of-wars between employer and employee and covering company earnings with the consumer team. Prior, she worked as an economics beat reporter at Medill News Service in D.C., where she covered congressional hearings, Supreme Court arguments and a Federal Reserve interest rate press conference. At the Medill News Service, she interviewed voters on the ground during South Carolina’s GOP primary and live-Tweeted a White House press briefing. Wherever she goes, Alicia is passionate about bringing her audience into the rooms where history is made.
Michael Kim Journalism Fellowship
RECIPIENT: Ryan Chien
Ryan Chien is a Dean’s List graduate from the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently a digital media coordinator for CBS Sports with experience in play-by-play broadcasting, social media production, and journalism. He continues to commentate and announce for various Cal sports on Pac-12/ACCN Digital Networks, including football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, and volleyball games.
In college, Ryan served as the sports editor for The Daily Californian Newspaper and was KALX 90.7 FM’s sports director and lead play-by-play broadcaster. He also served as the lead play-by-play basketball commentator for the Capitol Hoops Summer League and was a Turner Sports production intern for Inside The NBA, MLB on TBS, and NHL on TNT.
Ryan has covered countless sporting events such as the Super Bowl, WNBA Finals, and the NFL Draft. He has worked alongside and interviewed various athletes, such as Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Mookie Betts.
Ryan hopes to continue broadcasting while staying active in digital sports media. Some of his closest mentors include Director of B/R Social Content Varoon Bose, WBD Sports Senior Associate Director Salim Sobers, and Turner Sports VP of Broadcast Talent Relations Ben Spitalnick. Ryan is a proud member of the AAJA Sports Task Force and is especially appreciative of his family and friends for supporting him every step of the way.
Al Young Sports Journalism Scholarship
RECIPIENT: Sydney Chan
Sydney Chan is a freshman at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, majoring in Broadcast and Digital Journalism. With only one semester under her belt, she was trusted to cover the 2024 Holiday Bowl for the Newhouse School Sports Media Center and selected as part of the Empire State Winter Games coverage team in January 2025. Formerly an Editor-in-Chief of the official monthly magazine at her high school which ranks No. 20 nationally, she was also a Secretary-General of the Model United Nations team and a 7th-place winner in speech and debate at the California State Tournament. Ms. Chan is the second freshman to ever make an on-air debut on ACC Network Extra at SU and is currently an Associate Producer and a Women’s Lacrosse Beat Reporter for CitrusTV, the largest student-run television station in the nation.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Ms. Chan is a sports fanatic and an enthusiast of international cuisine. Her ultimate dream jobs include hosting the Olympics coverage, serving as the GM of a major sports franchise, and being a sports agent representing the next super star.
AAJA Sports Task Force x Bleacher Report Social Content Internship
RECIPIENT: Trisha Dasgupta
Trisha Dasgupta is a rising senior double-majoring in journalism and rhetoric at the University of Texas. Dasgupta first discovered her love for reporting in high school and plans on pursuing journalism full-time after graduation.
In her freshman year, Dasgupta joined Texas’s student newspaper, The Daily Texan, and has worked in the news, life & arts, and projects departments. During her time at The Texan, Dasgupta has covered both hard news coming out of the state capitol and Austin’s lively entertainment scene. In 2023, she covered South by Southwest, interviewing artists such as Stephanie Hsu, Adele Lim and Seth Rogan. In her sophomore year, Dasgupta was named the associate editor of The Texan’s life & arts department and covered the Austin City Limits music festival. Her work in entertainment has been recognized by artists such as Suki Waterhouse and Chappell Roan.
In addition to her work in print journalism, Dasgupta works in social media for Taylor Swift Style LLC. In 2024. Dasgupta created fashion journalist and NYT best-selling author Sarah Chappelle’s TikTok, editing and producing weekly content and growing an audience of over 35k followers.
Dasgupta will be interning at Bleacher Report this summer. She is immensely thankful to her family and mentors for their unwavering support and to AAJA and Bleacher Report for this exciting opportunity.
ESPN / AAJA Sports Task Force Internship
RECIPIENT: Cooper Fojas
Cooper Fojas grew up in North Jersey and graduated from the University of Maryland in May 2025, where he majored in Journalism and minored in Asian American Studies. He is pursuing a career filled with opportunities to exercise his passion for sports storytelling.
In college, Cooper wrote for and edited a small campus news outlet, hosted and produced his own sports talk radio show, reported on the men’s basketball beat, and served as stage manager for the broadcast news bureau. He also played four years of club ice hockey and officiated intramural sports.
Cooper’s most proud accomplishment thus far is that he has produced journalistic work in three continents. He was executive producer for the Israel Elite Hockey League in 2023, then reported on the globalization of basketball from Africa in 2024. He frequents sports graphic/uniform design, TV shows, pick-up basketball, music production, and video games in his free time.
Learn more about Cooper here: X | Instagram | LinkedIn | Portfolio
AAJA Sports Task Force CBS Sports Race & Culture Internship
RECIPIENT: Kyle Ngo
Kyle Ngo is a rising senior majoring in Media Studies and minoring in Journalism and Data Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a senior sports reporter and former sports editor at The Daily Californian, where he primarily covers Cal football and basketball, along with broader Cal athletics and the greater sports world. Kyle is also a sports broadcaster for KALX 90.7 FM, commentating Cal football, basketball, and baseball games.
Learn more about Kyle here: Instagram | LinkedIn | Portfolio
Thank you to the 2025 Judges for Fall / Winter Opportunities:
AAJA gives thanks to the following members for their time and contributions to support the administering of this season’s scholarship, internships, and grants: Abby Chin, Adi Joseph, Aditi Kinkhabwala, Al Young, Annie Z. Yu, Ben Baby, Brady Wakayama, Elaine Teng, Eric He, Hayden Kim, James Koh, Jaren Yang, Jenny Chiu, Lily Zhao, Michele Steele, Nader Issa, Nicole Yang, Pablo Iglesias, Patrick Truby, Raymund Flandez, Ryan Chien, Scott Wong, Shehan Jeyarajah, Souchi Terada, Stephen Nelson, Tami Nguyen, Tommy Tran, Vritti Goel.
Thank you to our sponsors and donors
AAJA appreciates the scholarship donors for their continuous legacy in inspiring a new generation of journalists. Thank you to our generous donors Cynthia Chennault, Dinah Eng, Beth K. Erickson, Joe Grimm, Judy Chu Lin, Michael Kim, Lloyd LaCuesta, Matthew and Dorothy Russell, Martha Shirk, Don Yee and Al Young, along with Steve Herman, Sam Hyun, and Catalina Camia.
A special thanks to Kathy Black and Alisha Cowan-Vieria at ABC, Autumn Joyner and Gabby Flores-Sanchez at Bleacher Report, Carolyn Hwang and Suzanna Camacho at ESPN, Steven Thomma at the White House Correspondents Association, Tara Morgan at NBC Universal, and the Indigenous Journalists Association for supporting AAJA’s scholarship opportunities.
About AAJA’s Scholarships
AAJA annually offers financial support to journalism students through scholarships and internship grants to help offset the costs of education, internships, living expenses and other professional development opportunities. These scholarships are made possible by supporters such as AAJA members, allies and generous donors. Learn more here.
