Student Excellence in Online/Digital Journalism

Michael Zhang, “‘Nobody asked me’: Houston AAPI voters face challenges ahead of election season” Houston Landing

ABOUT THE WORK: Despite Houston having such a large immigrant population, with a whopping 29% of Houston residents being foreign born, before this article there has been little to no reportage in Houston covering the diversity of Houstonian AAPI immigrant groups, let alone from a data perspective. Even more rare, was reporting that highlighted the challenges AAPI voters faced specifically in Houston, the result of a recent barrage of Texas voter suppression laws which disproportionately impacted minority groups, such as those in the city of Houston.

Michael Zhang is a data journalist based in Austin, Texas, and a 2025 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. Most recently, he was a Dow Jones data reporting fellow for Houston Landing, covering education, public safety, and other data-related beats. He is driven by the desire to highlight the many injustices and inequalities commonly ignored in society, through journalism.

Honorable Mention: Ethan Huang, “16,000 miles to freedom,” ASCJ Capstone

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