OHIO graduate uses media skills to tell climate change story, receives national recognition

Alie Skowronski, BSVC, BS ’21, is a triple threat in the media industry. She is primarily a photojournalist, but she is also a videographer and a writer.

She recently used all those skills, along with her the academic knowledge from her double major at Ohio University and her ability to scuba dive, to tell a story that is close to her heart and is being recognized on a national level.

“In July, a story I put together as a freelancer called ‘The Galapagos Islands and many of their unique creatures are at risk from warming waters,’ was published by the Associated Press (AP),” said Skowronski. “One of the photos from the story was selected for the AP Week in Pictures: Global gallery, which was really cool.”

Skowronski grew up in Aurora, Ohio, and she is now a staff photographer at the Miami Herald in Florida. She previously interned at the Columbus Dispatch, the Sacramento Bee, the Ann Arbor News/MLive.com and the ActionQuest Media Team in the British Virgin Islands. Her internship at ActionQuest is where she really found her passion for underwater photography.

“I was both a photojournalism and marine, freshwater, environmental biology major at Ohio University,” said Skowronski. “I decided to be a dual major because I was good at science and interested in disseminating scientific stories to the public. I always knew I wanted to put my storytelling skills to use to inform people about climate change.”

So, when she went on a personal trip to the Galapagos Islands, she decided to put together the kind of story she had dreamed about reporting on.

“I knew there was a story there, so I pitched it to the AP,” said Skowronski. “Science journalism can be tough to make relatable to people. I focused on telling the story of how invasive species are coupled with climate change and how that is putting some of the most vulnerable species at risk. People think they are separate issues, but they are not.”

Skowronski was able to scuba dive and capture underwater video and photos for the story. 

“I took photos when I thought a still picture would capture the image better,” said Skowronski. “And I took video when something had more movement, and video would help it translate better.”

As a National Hearst Photojournalism Awards (2021) : First Place Overall Winner and an Ohio News Photographers Association (2021): Pictorial First Place Winner and Portrait Second Place Winner, Skowronski is no stranger to accolades for her work. But she says this one is special.

“I want to work on more of these stories full-time one day; that would be the dream,” said Skowronski. “A lot of my success in this story is a culmination of all the people who helped me along the way. People who were willing to give me directions and teach me skills I didn’t have before. I’m grateful for my professors at Ohio University, and another person I’d like to thank is my mentor from the Columbus Dispatch. This story really shows the progression of my personal career. I didn’t miraculously get good at this. Many people have supported me along the way.”

To learn more about the School of Visual Communication visit https://www.ohio.edu/scripps-college/viscom.