Ariana Crockett O'Harra

I am from Anchorage, Alaska, where I grew up cross country skiing, kayaking, and spending time outdoors. In 2024, I graduated from Montana State University with double majors in photography and english with a minor in psychology. I enjoy running, film photography, and cooking.

I'm a new reporter at The Nome Nugget, but I spent most of my teen and college years preparing for a career in journalism. In high school, I worked with Alaska Teen Media Institute, where I learned the ins and outs of print, radio and visual journalism. In college, I worked for my school paper, The MSU Exponent, where I covered everything from drag shows to rodeos to presidential rallies.

Although I was employed as a photographer and director of photography at prior jobs, I still wrote, and much of my work is driven by the urge to create cohesive, comprehensive coverage of a situation, both visually and in writing. I moved to Nome in part because I love the north, I love the ocean, and I love the tundra, but I also moved here because I believe that local journalism is a lifeline for communities – local journalists are the ones reporting on your school board meetings, the state of the roads, and whatever else comes across our desks. We're also the ones who are in some of the best positions to report on national issues that affect our communities. I am most interested to use my skills to inform our readers in a truthful and unbiased way.