Mississippi State Television Center video producer Olivia Aylsworth found her love for documentaries in the Deep South.

The University of Tennessee Knoxville graduate moved to Starkville in 2022 after earning her bachelor's degree in cinema studies. Aylsworth started working on documentaries prior to her career at MSU, but it was the MSU Films’ narrative- and character-based documentary work that drove her to the university. 

“I like hearing about everybody’s stories. Documentaries feel important,” she said. “You learn from different people. Every time I listen to someone’s story, I end up rooting for them.”

As a video producer, Aylsworth travels throughout the South capturing stories with MSU ties. Last year, she spent weeks working with MSU alum and NASA engineer Carrie Olsen, whose story is one part of series Aylsworth is producing about women in male-dominated fields.

“I spent eight hours in the field filming all day,” she said. “It was incredible.”

Aylsworth’s favorite part of her job, other than the people she meets, is the travel.

“I don’t think I could exist without traveling,” she said. “This job has made me appreciate Mississippi. For instance, I had no idea what the Delta even was before I moved here. Now, it’s one of my favorite places.”

Aylsworth, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, joined the MSU family in June 2022. Her job ranges from producing documentaries and series, editing content and filming on the scene— “a little bit of everything,” she said.

In a little more than two years, her record speaks for itself—winning two Southeastern Emmys in that span. Her first Emmy was as an editor for short-form content and her second was for “Any of Them,” a documentary she produced.

“I had no clue I’d win an Emmy, especially my first year with my first project. It was so exciting,” she said. “My second Emmy, I was so sure I wouldn’t get it. I was surprised when I heard the clip of my documentary start playing.”