AAJA will award up to $2,000 to a currently enrolled college student or graduating high school senior who is pursuing journalism as a career. Please only apply if your tuition costs or student loans exceed $2,000.
ABOUT DOROTHY ING RUSSELL
Dorothy Ing Russell was an international correspondent and worked for more than two decades at The Washington Post as a desk editor on some of the biggest stories of the time. In 1990 she wrote a courageous opinion piece about the far-reaching implications of the racism and sexism spewed by Jimmy Breslin in the Post. Russell was also a tireless supporter of AAJA, and co-founded AAJA’s Washington, D.C. chapter.
She was noted for her rise from a 1951 graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, to acting Indonesia bureau chief for United Press International in 1956, to becoming only the second woman stringer for The New York Times at the time. She was a reporter for the American Weekly in London, a writer and editor for The Japan Times, Asahi Evening News and Stars and Stripes in Tokyo and as a writer-researcher for World magazine in New York City.
With her hire in 1968 at The Washington Post, she became its first Asian American editor and writer and its second woman editor in the city room. While on the national copy desk, she edited stories on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination and the riots in Washington, D.C. In the early 1970s, she was the only woman editor on the Post’s Metro copy desk and helped edit the Post’s Pulitzer Prize-winning series on the Watergate break-in and cover-up written by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Russell established the Mary Quon Moy Ing Memorial Scholarship in honor of her mother. The scholarship has provided tens of thousands of dollars in financial assistance to college students throughout the years.
She passed away on October 19, 2012.
ABOUT MARY QUON MOY ING
Mrs. Mary Quon Moy Ing (1900-1974) lived most of her life in Canada, having arrived as a very young girl from China in 1911. At that time, China was undergoing great turmoil, which eventually turned into civil war. She lost her family in this conflict.
During her early life, Mary attended the Chinese Presbyterian church and Church School, learning many life lessons, skills and handicrafts. She became an expert knitter, crocheter, embroiderer and garment maker.
Mary moved from Toronto to Vancouver in 1958. Her early life, after marriage to Henry Ing, was dedicated to working beside her husband, raising seven children – three sons and four daughters. Mary and Henry worked very hard throughout their years to make a living in the restaurant business. The Great Depression years were difficult, but despite their hardship they managed to provide the means for their children to attend college.
Mary was a devoted wife and mother. Her concern for the welfare of her family, relatives and friends were always uppermost in her heart and mind. She was a loving, warm and understanding person whose presence and sacrifices formed the core of the family home. Mary’s sweet nature displayed great patience, tolerance and generosity. She was an amazingly strong, intelligent and talented lady, who was admired and beloved by all who knew her.
– Courtesy of Amie Ing Kelsey
Application
Please check back for more information on applications for 2021.
Please reach out to support@aaja.org if you have any questions.
Eligibility and Rules
- Applicants must be committed to AAJA’s mission.
- Applicants must demonstrate journalistic excellence, a strong interest in pursuing journalism as a career, and a commitment to community involvement.
- Applicants must be a graduating high school senior, undergraduate, or graduate student enrolled full-time with at least 12 credit units each semester for the fall of 2019 and spring of 2020. Applicants must be currently taking or planning to take journalism courses and/or pursuing journalism as a career.
Selection Criteria
Candidates will be selected on the basis of academic achievement, demonstrated journalistic ability, financial need, commitment to the field of journalism and/or sensitivity to Asian American/Pacific Islander issues. AAJA student membership is encouraged for all applicants and required for the selected scholarship recipient. For membership, please apply online at www.aaja.org.
Mary Quong Moy Ing Memorial Scholarship Recipients
ABOUT THE 2020 WINNER
William Yuen Yee is currently a student at Columbia University studying Political Science and East Asian Languages and Cultures. He recently completed an internship at SupChina, a China-focused news platform, where he published articles on Chinese domestic and foreign policy and conducted research for the Sinica Podcast. At school, he leads the News Department at WKCR 89.9FM NY and serves as the Community Zone Editor for the Columbia Daily Spectator. Upon graduation, he plans to attend law school and pursue a career in legal journalism.
ABOUT THE 2018 WINNER
Ravleen Kaur is a graduate student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. “The AAJA scholarship made it easier for me to focus full-time on my journalism studies. It made the difference between taking a job this semester, or waiting until next semester when things settle down,” Ravleen says. She is currently a reporter for Richmond Confidential, a news lab at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and hopes to pursue long-form pieces and long-term projects after graduation.
ABOUT THE 2017 WINNER
Alvin Tran is currently a graduate student at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University focusing on nutrition and health communication. “The Mary Quon Moy Ing Memorial Scholarship has been beyond supportive of my academic studies and training as a health journalist. The financial support from this scholarship went towards the tuition of my graduate program at Harvard University. […] I remain honored to be the recipient of this award, and along with its own mission, continue to focus on in-depth coverage of issues surrounding the Asian community nationally and globally,” Alvin says. He is currently a part-time news writer for NBC Boston and works as the social media producer for the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Voices in Leadership program.
ABOUT THE 2016 WINNER
Lauren Day is currently a student at the University of Southern California focusing on broadcast and digital journalism. She recently completed an internship as a college associate with Fox News Channel. “This scholarship made it possible for me to finish my career at the University of Southern California. The $2000 from this scholarship went towards my tuition, which my family is extremely grateful for. This was an extremely stressful year financially, so this scholarship helped to lift some of the financial burden of paying for college. Because of this scholarship, I am succeeding at one of the top journalism schools in the country,” Lauren says. She is currently an executive producer and reporter for USC Annenberg Media.
ABOUT THE 2015 WINNER
Wendy Lu is currently attending the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism with plans to graduate in May of 2016. When not in class, she spends her time as a writer, photographer and web team member for The Midtown Gazette campus publication. While in school, Wendy hopes to improve upon her visual acuity as a photographer as well as her writing and reporting skills. The Mary Quon Moy Ing Scholarship helped Wendy to pursue her dream at graduate school while living in New York. With graduation on the horizon, her hopes are to land a long-term fellowship or a short-term internship at a respectable publication.
ABOUT THE 2014 WINNER
Aliya Bora attends the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and will graduate in May 2015. She is currently working as a news writer/morning show assistant at KSWB-TV FOX5 in San Diego. She hopes to continue learning more about data journalism and improving her performance skills in broadcast media. The scholarship helped finance Aliya’s living expenses in New York where the cost of living is very high. “The Mary Quon Moy Ing Scholarship allowed me to study at the #1 journalism school in the country. I am very thankful to have this experience and study in the media capital of the world,” Aliya says. She hopes to start working as a broadcast news reporter/producer after graduation, and eventually work on long-format stories for a national broadcast show.
Privacy Policy
Application information will only be used internally by AAJA to promote student opportunities and for program evaluation and planning. In the application form, please indicate whether you would like to be notified of further student opportunities from AAJA, including scholarships, grants and additional journalism training. AAJA does not share applicant information with third parties.