Yong Li Xuan is a storyteller passionate about serving her community and amplifying the voices of those who are marginalized or vulnerable. As a child, “dogged” and “stubborn” were often used to describe Li Xuan in her report cards. As an adult, she has only become more persistent. With her skills in photojournalism and newswriting, she is determined to move the needle forward, to bring people together and to celebrate humanity. She understands that gaining a newsmaker’s trust is a privilege and approaches every story with genuine curiosity and empathy. Drawn to the multi-faceted nature of photography, she strives to master different aspects of the craft – be it retouching in fashion photography or capturing moments in documentary photography – to become a more holistic image-maker.

Li Xuan studied journalism and photography at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. After graduating in 2022, she had a two-year stint as a breaking news reporter at The Straits Times. She was a coordinator for three editions of Pictures of the Year Asia, which led her to the University of Missouri, where she is now a photojournalism graduate student and lead coordinator for Pictures of the Year International and College Photographer of the Year.