Reporting Fellow Alum Wins Mark of Excellence Award

Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellow Imran Mohammad Fazal Hoque won the national Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists in the in-depth reporting category or schools with an enrollment less than 10,000 for his reporting on the Rohingya diaspora in the United States.

The annual SPJ Mark of Excellence awards honor the best in student journalism across the country.

During his reporting, Hoque was a 2021 Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellow from City Colleges Chicago. He graduated from Harry S. Truman College in May and will attend Northeastern Illinois University in the fall. Hoque came to the U.S. as a stateless Rohingya refugee.

His Pulitzer Center-supported project, Rohingya Diaspora in the U.S., looks at the challenges many Rohingya refugees face when they arrive in the United States. His interviews with families and young Rohingya living in the Midwest show the emotional complexities of adjusting to life in America and the trauma that lingers. In a separate piece, Hoque writes about his own experience arriving in the United States as a stateless refugee from Myanmar, and how writing “saved” him.

After learning that he won the SPJ award, Hoque wrote, “As a stateless Rohingya, I never thought I could achieve something like this. In my home country, I could never imagine going to school, but it didn’t stop me. I found my voice through writing in a place where everyone gave up hope.”

To see a complete list of winners, click here.