When Ira Gorawara’s phone buzzed with a number she didn’t recognize, she nearly didn’t answer the call. Gorawara’s grateful not to have followed her original intuition.
It was Al Young on the other end of the line, informing the senior student from UCLA that she was the 2026 recipient of the $2,500 Al Young Sports Journalism Scholarship through AAJA’s Sports Task Force.
“I felt a jolt of disbelief when he introduced himself,” Gorawara said. “Here was someone I’ve long admired by his prestigious reputation — a pioneer who carved out space in sports journalism and redefined what belonging looks and feels like for Asian Americans in the industry.”
Young had glowing words for the latest addition to an impressive legacy of past recipients aided in their sports journalism aspirations through his scholarship.
“A year ago, it was a freshman phenom from Syracuse University — Sydney Chan — who won our milestone 10th anniversary 2025 Al Young Scholarship,” Young said. “This year, 3,000 miles across the country, we honor polished UCLA senior Ira Gorawara, 21, with our 2026 Scholarship to begin the Sports Task Force’s second decade of continual financial aid & support for young, aspiring AAPI sports media journalists.”
Gorawara emerged from a strong field of applicants. Not only did she impress Young – it was clear she left a mark with the rest of the judging panel, one of whom wrote that Gorawara “checks every box” and is “already operating at a pro level.”
Another wrote, “Ira has one of the most impressive sportswriting resumes of any college student I’ve seen.”
Gorawara’s background and resume are indeed unique. Not only did she serve as Sports Editor for UCLA’s Daily Bruin, she interned at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong before interning at the L.A. Times and then The Athletic. She impressed The Athletic to the point where they extended her August 2025 internship until she graduates in June of 2026.
“Mr. Young forged a path in a space that had no precedent for Asian American voices,” Gorawara said. “My identity as an Indian born and raised in Hong Kong — now living in Los Angeles — has everything to do with how I approach my craft. To be recognized in that context, with an award bearing his name is humbling and motivating, affirming that those layered perspectives play a critical role in this field. As Mr. Young first illustrated, we need more Asian Americans in sports media to drive meaningful and ambitious storytelling.”
This adds to Gorawara’s list of awards, a list that includes receiving last year’s Jimmie & Suey Fong Yee Grant through AAJA’s Sports Task Force that helped her attend her first AAJA National Convention. In her essay for the Al Young Scholarship, Gorawara wrote that the $2,500 would help ease educational and relocation costs, especially as she prepares for life beyond college graduation.
And Young is more than happy to do his part to support.
“Now on the cusp of achieving her lifelong ambition and graduating this coming May, we hope this well-deserved scholarship award will provide Ira the financial boost she’ll need to hit the ground running in pursuit of her first sports media job.”
The Al Young Scholarship is dedicated to the nation’s first Asian American sports writer at a metropolitan daily newspaper and the first to cover the NFL in addition to writing the first weekly column — male or female — on Women’s Sports. Young’s four-decade long career includes positions at the Boston Globe, USA Today, the New York Daily News, the New Haven (CT) Register and Bridgeport (CT) Post-Telegram. Young retired in December 2012.
About The Recipient: Ira Gorawara
Ira Gorawara is a senior at University of California, Los Angeles and intern on the colleges desk at The Athletic, The New York Times’ national sports publication. In her junior year, she was the Sports editor at the Daily Bruin and completed the school year working at the Los Angeles Times. Gorawara has experience in newsrooms all over the globe — including the South China Morning Post, NDTV and a number of cricket publications worldwide.
About AAJA’s Scholarships
AAJA annually offers up to $20,000 in scholarships and grants to journalism students to help offset the costs of education, internships, living expenses and other opportunities. These scholarships are made possible by supporters such as AAJA members, allies and generous donors. To learn more about AAJA scholarships or donate, visit https://www.aaja.org/news-and-resources/scholarships-internships/.
