Student Runs Hottest Instagram at Penn State, PSU Eats

Senior year can be a hectic time, but that hasn’t stopped this full-time student from managing the hottest (and most delicious-looking!) Instagram at Penn State, PSU Eats. While she has asked to be anonymous for the purposes of this interview, she gave us some important insights into how she engages and interacts with over 7,000 followers, all while handling the exciting demands of her last year in college.

Tell us about you! What are you studying at Penn State?

I am a Senior at Penn State majoring in Biobehavioral health looking to go to graduate school and become a Physician Assistant. I am in a sorority at Penn State and extremely involved with “THON,” Penn State’s Dance Marathon which I will be dancing in this year!

Tell us how you first got into social media.

I’ve always been a big fan of photography, but with my major, I was not able to take classes or get involved in clubs that would allow me to express my creative side–so I had to turn to social media to do so. There was no account at Penn State like the one I created, and I just knew Penn Staters love food and that this account would be successful.

What are your biggest concerns when you are posting on social media?

I don’t really have concerns with posting pictures. If it’s not a great picture then it won’t get as many likes as others, but I can just post a new and better one a few hours later to make up for it.

What is your favorite post that you’ve ever done?

I don’t have one specific picture that is my favorite, but the pictures that are able to incorporate the Penn State culture are the ones that get the most love from my followers — those are definitely my favorites. These pictures include Penn State Creamery ice cream on graduation day last year, or a picture of a Beaver Stadium Chicken Basket at our last home game of the season this year.

What has been the coolest experience you’ve had through your site?

Some of the coolest things I have experienced since starting this account have involved being able to team up with companies to give out free food or prizes–like WayUp, who is helping me raise money for THON. Other cool experiences are hearing people I don’t know talk about the recent picture I just posted and seeing how it has become known to people throughout campus.

What advice would you give students who are looking to pursue social media as a career?

You will definitely have to be creative and think of ideas that have not been done before. Pay attention to your audience and learn what they like. For example, I am a vegetarian but have learned that pictures of hamburgers, wings, bacon, and chicken baskets are some of the most successful pictures on the account, so I continue to post them to please my followers.