Yong Li Xuan is a first-year photojournalism master’s student at the University of Missouri. Originally from the island-city of Singapore, Li Xuan graduated from Nanyang Technological University in 2022 with a degree in communication studies and a minor in photography. Her final-year photojournalism project documenting a young woman’s struggle with depression and anxiety received the 2022 Objectifs Documentary Award in the emerging category, which gave her the opportunity to exhibit the work. That same year, she was selected for the Eddie Adams Workshop. After graduating from university, she worked as a journalist for national broadsheet The Straits Times, where she had interned as a photojournalist. From 2022 to 2024, she also volunteered as a coordinator for three editions of POY Asia which celebrates Asian photography and storytelling.