July 19, 2024
Missouri School of Journalism graduate Owen Ziliak, B.J. ’24, recently placed second in the 2023-24 Hearst National Photojournalism Championship in San Francisco.
Ziliak earned $8,500 in scholarships for championship participation: $7,500 for his second-place finish and $1,000 for Best Portfolio. During his Hearst assignment, he was tasked with spending time at the REAP Climate Center in Alameda, California, where he photographed volunteers and Climate Action Corps fellows.
“The experience at the Hearst national championships was one I’ll never forget,” said Ziliak, who also won a special award for Best Portfolio. “It was an honor to get to represent Missouri and use the skills I’d learned over the last four years at the school to earn second place.”
Ziliak, who graduated summa cum laude in May, started his award-winning streak when he was a student. He earned recognition as a staff photographer at the Columbia Missourian, an intern at the Chicago Sun-Times and a participating photographer at the 75th Missouri Photo Workshop.
“I can’t thank Jackie Bell and Brian Kratzer enough for their guidance that led me to this point,” said Ziliak, singling out two of his professors, “as well as every Mizzou journalist I ever worked with for inspiring me and pushing me to be a better journalist every day.”
Other Missouri School of Journalism students who finished in the top five in the monthly Hearst competitions included:
- Aryana Hadjimohammadi, fourth place for writing: personality/profile
- Katie Kriz, fourth place for multimedia: narrative video storytelling
- John Murphy, third place for television: news
- Jackson Valenti, fourth place for television: features
