Aina Marzia is a 17-year-old Independent Journalist based in El Paso, Texas covering intersectional politics, culture, and Gen Z. Her work has been seen in The Nation, The Daily Beast, Ms. Magazine, Insider, Teen Vogue, NPR, i-D, Dazed, and more. When she is not writing Aina organizes with the National Student Press Law Center Texas Team, ACLU, and the UCLA Center for Storytellers and Scholars.

“I think student journalism allows us to share our stories at times where it might feel like we are unheard. More often than not our voices are downplayed and for me it taught me that anyone no matter age or experience has the power to voice their opinions. Most importantly it has taught me that I can’t be a bystander to suffering, something I use outside of writing as well.”

What I Do

As the West Texas officer of New Voices Texas, I work to organize and mobilize student journalists in the often underrepresented parts of Texas to advocate for their 1A rights. I contact local high schools and student publications to get involved with us by signing petitions and spreading awareness of what censorship looks and feels like. I will be measuring my success as an officer through the number of journalists and schools I can reach to help us here at New Voices, by the end of this school year I hope to have added more schools from West Texas and gotten more publications involved with our mission.