Life & Work with Alex Lewis of Sylva, NC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Lewis.

Hi Alex, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hey, I’m Alex!

In high school, I KNEW I wanted to be a photographer. My parents bought me a digital camera that I rarely left home without. I took pictures of everything: field trips I went on, graduations, random hikes and even fellow students during free periods. To this day, friends reach out to me to see if I’m still available for shoots.

Instead, I find myself a writer.

Graduating from Western Carolina University was a process that took me more than four years thanks to the clocktower curse and a full-time job in customer service, but I walked away with an English degree. I believed this expensive piece of paper meant I would soon be an accomplished author. What it actually meant is that I would be writing Facebook posts and Instagram captions as a social media specialist.

It also meant I’d be making movies.

I currently work for the Smoky Mountains STEM Collaborative, a NASA-funded Science Activation project dedicated to bringing STEM resources and opportunities to our service area. In the three years I’ve held this position, I’ve created two award-winning short films highlighting the work we do with and in our rural communities. We hope to continue bringing science into the hands of our learners.

In my free time, I enjoy attending concerts (special shoutout to Hotel Mira), going for walks with my dog, birdwatching, playing video games and taking pictures of everything.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Besides the transition from high school to college, six years of customer service, a pandemic, moving out of my parents’ place (and back in and then out again and then back in again and then out once more), a devastating hurricane and being queer and non-white in this political climate, I’d say it’s been an otherwise smooth road.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
When I first started my job as a Communications Specialist for the Smoky Mountains STEM Collaborative, I assumed I’d be working a typical desk job where I write posts and make flyers that I send off to other people for approval. These do fall under my responsibilities, but my position allows me the opportunity to try and make science both meaningful and fun for people who, like me, may not have a background in this particular field.

Because of this freedom to be creative, I’ve made two short films showcasing the work my team does to colleagues within the Science Activation community during an annual conference. The first film, presented in 2023, was voted People’s Choice and the second film won Best Collaboration in 2024. For 2025, I am hoping to do what the Kansas City Chiefs could not and win my third consecutive award.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Collaboration. It’s cheesy to say this because it’s in the name, but I think that nothing I’ve done in my professional life has been achievable without the support of my team and my institution. It’s so important to have the ability to ask for help, to brainstorm, to support each other’s work, to REALLY be a team player.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SmokyMtnSTEM/