Yan Zhen Zhu

Yan is a senior at Brooklyn Tech, where she majors in social science research, exploring her interest in human behavior and societal structures. She is also interested in critical and feminist theory, with some of her favorite authors being Simone de Beauvoir and bell hooks. As an opinion editor at her school newspaper, The Survey, she's covered topics ranging from criminal justice reform to lunch options. When she is not researching for a new article, she can be found scribbling barely-legible poetry at the local boba café or playing Connect 4 with her friends at her home in Brooklyn. At Press Pass NYC, she hopes to help expand journalism to all high school students, thereby extending the potential for critical civic engagement through student journalism. Moreover, she believes in the power of the individual voice and using that voice to expose pressing issues and raise awareness for necessary change.