Khushboo Razdan
Khushboo Razdan (India)
Khushboo Razdan is a multimedia journalist with over a decade of work experience in India and China. She is presently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Politics at the Columbia School of Journalism. In India, she worked for NDTV 24x7, Times Now, and India Today. As an International reporter for China Global Television Network (CGTN), she wrote about India-China ties, Chinese culture, gender issues, and mental health. She published in-depth stories about death studies in the COVID era, targeted killings of journalists in Afghanistan, persecution of inter-religion couples under India’s Hindu-nationalist government, Mahatma Gandhi’s racist past, among others. She is interested in reporting about the impact of colonialism on native population of former and current dependencies. READ MORE
“The AFPC’s scholarship will help me connect with journalists from all over the world”
Noran Morsi
Noran Morsi (Egypt)
Noran Morsi is a writer and podcaster studying at New York University’s Literary Reportage MFA program and holds a BA in Multimedia Journalism from the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Born and raised in Cairo, Noran’s teenage years coincided with the January 25 revolution. She spent her first-year post-graduate as a reporter at Egyptian Streets, an independent online publication, where she founded the Egyptian Streets Podcast. Noran has written two short plays and is interested in creating documentary theatre work. She’s excited to be in New York to write about immigration, the past and present of Arab New York, Muslim woman joy, and more. READ MORE
“I wouldn’t be able to continue my master’s without the AFPC-USA scholarship”
Idris Muktar
Idris Muktar (Kenya)
Idris Muktar is a master’s student at U.C. Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. Prior to graduate school, he worked as a journalist across Africa for DW, CNN, among other national, regional and international news outlets. Specifically, he reported on prominent issues across the continent including the 2015 President Barack Obama’s visit to Kenya, Pope Francis’s maiden visit to Africa, the 2019 South African elections. He was the lead producer in Addis Ababa for CNN’s coverage of the 2019 crashing of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 that killed 157 people. At Berkeley, he is looking to advance his years of field experience in journalism and sharpen investigative reporting skills. Idris is a MasterCard Foundation Scholar and a 2021 Human Righters Center at Berkeley Fellow. READ MORE
“My scholarship from the AFPC is a motivation and an encouragement award”
Isabella Zavarise
Isabella Zavarise (Canada)
Isabella Zavarise is a Canadian journalist pursuing her M.A. at The University of Southern California where she’s focusing on business and data journalism. She previously worked for The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a video journalist and radio producer, covering stories about housing insecurity and sexual assault. Her work has appeared regionally and nationally, and one of her radio documentaries about an Indigenous burlesque group won the CBC’s Alexis Mazurin award. She has also worked as a podcast producer. Her goal as a journalist is to think critically about stories and how to tell them better. READ MORE
“AFPC’s support is crucial to building and advancing my career in the U.S.”
Mercy Adhiambo Orengo
Mercy Adhiambo Orengo (Kenya)
Mercy Adhiambo Orengo from Kenya is a student at the graduate school of Journalism at Columbia University. She is in the MA-Science cohort. In 2021, she received an Annual Scholarship Award from the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA. She has a first degree in journalism from the United States International University in Nairobi. She has worked as a reporter for various media houses in Kenya; writing human interest stories and features. Some of the beats she has reported on include: war and conflict, health, children, youth, and development. She was the 2020 Nieman visiting fellow at Harvard University researching how to report on children and vulnerable communities. READ MORE
“AFPC’s support will equip me with new skills to become a better storyteller”
Eleonora Bianchi
Eleonora Bianchi (Switzerland)
Eleonora Bianchi is a Swiss-Italian second-year student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, focusing her career in narrative writing and Investigative journalism. Eleonora worked for the Swiss Radio and Television, and as an independent reporter at the 2019 G7 in Biarritz, following the anti-summit protests. While an undergraduate student, Eleonora traveled extensively across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East on her own to connect with people of different cultures and religions through storytelling. Working as a volunteer in remote regions of Tanzania, slums in India, and refugee camps in Iraq, she forged a deep understanding of the geopolitical landscape. After graduating in Human Rights and International Relations with a thesis on illegal human organs trafficking, she went to Syria to collect testimonies from civilians. She also honed her war reporting skills by completing a training course and obtaining a diploma. READ MORE
“AFPC’s support allows me to present myself with a guarantee to future employers in America”
Natalia Sánchez Loayza
Natalia Sánchez Loayza (Peru)
Natalia Sánchez Loayza is a Peruvian journalist, editor, and writer. In 2021, she received an Annual Scholarship Award from the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA. She’s a master candidate in Bilingual Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism as a Future Journalist Fund Scholar. Additionally, she holds an MFA in Creative Writing in Spanish from NYU. She focuses her journalistic work on gender inequality, labor issues, and reproductive rights. Her reporting on the labor conditions of domestic workers in Peru has been awarded by the Gabo Foundation. She’s co-founder and co-editor of different female-led media projects. She was awarded the Aura Estrada Prize in 2021. She lives in Brooklyn. READ MORE
“Receiving the AFPC’s scholarship is great encouragement to keep pursuing my goals”
