新澳门六合彩内幕信息

Social Networking

For some 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis students, social media offers a huge following.

A male student lies in a blue hammock and holds his phone up to look at it.

Social media has become a common part of many 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis students鈥 lives, but for some it has become a way to advance their careers, further their studies, build a community or even a career path 鈥 all while connecting with millions of people.

With more than 14 million Instagram followers and 3 million Twitter followers, Ph.D. student Gil do Vigor () may have the largest social media following of any Aggie, and he hopes to use his star power to convey his research. He rose to prominence after appearing on the 2021 season of Big Brother Brazil, a reality show where contestants are confined to a house and vote to eliminate one of their peers each week.

He finished in fourth place, and said he could have made much more money from his celebrity status staying in Brazil instead of moving to Davis to study economics (he recalled declining a recent invite to a star-studded party in Germany because it fell during 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis鈥 finals). But he sees value in his research 鈥 the impacts of violent drug markets 鈥 and hopes to continue to spread awareness on social media and beyond.

鈥淭he research, it needs to reach the people,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 prefer to use my social media to let people know the results that people are finding, and what I鈥檓 finding, too.鈥

Social media also made his transition to Davis easier: He said a WhatsApp group with other Brazilian students helped him acclimate, especially because his move to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis was his first time outside of Brazil. When he crashed his bicycle early in his time as an Aggie, a group of Brazilian friends descended on his home to cheer him up.

He said he grew up poor, watching his dad use drugs, and saw an education as his 鈥渨ay out.鈥 Rather than seek work as an actor or spokesperson, he hopes to find a career as a government minister and help advise economic policy decisions for all of Brazil.

鈥淚 intend to use my voice in order to make people understand a little better how science is important and why, regardless of my fame, I chose the Ph.D. education,鈥 he said. 鈥淓ducation is something that鈥檚 going to be with you forever.鈥

Being real

Emma Bishoff, a senior double majoring in American studies and neurobiology, physiology and behavior, also is open on social media about her reasons for choosing 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis. She started uploading makeup videos to YouTube as in middle school, but began to take the platform seriously when she moved from Columbus, Ohio, to Orange County, halfway through high school.

鈥淚 had two years of high school left, and I knew nobody,鈥 Bishoff said. 鈥淚t was a great outlet at the time.鈥

She eventually found a niche in college application videos, and a 2019 video showing which of the 22 universities she applied to had accepted, rejected or placed her on a waitlist has been viewed more than 160,000 times. When she arrived at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, she said she was earning about $300 a month from YouTube ad revenue and was recognized twice by viewers during the first week of her freshman year alone.

As her life changed, so did her video topics. She came out as queer in a video just before arriving at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, and posted a follow-up video a year later sharing what she had learned about herself and the LGBTQIA community.

鈥淚鈥檝e had tons of people reach out to me who are queer or trans 鈥 they said it鈥檚 great to see someone with a big platform talk about it at Davis,鈥 she said.

She later joined the Associated Students of 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis鈥 Gender and Sexuality Commission and helped organize AS新澳门六合彩内幕信息D鈥檚 first Pride Festival last summer.

Bishoff said she also made an effort to talk more about her own mental health struggles and show an unvarnished personality. She has posted videos discussing her own inability to focus during lectures and a subsequent ADHD diagnosis, changing majors, coping with stress and more.

鈥淢y main goal is to offer people comfort and relatability,鈥 she said, noting numerous connections and positive interactions she鈥檚 had online and on campus. 鈥淭hat was my goal 鈥 to connect with people 鈥 even if I didn鈥檛 know that when I was starting out.鈥

Natalie Torres holds an iPhone in front of her face
Natalie Torres, a senior human development major, has built a community of 23,000 followers on TikTok around her desire to attend medical school after graduation. (Karin Higgins/新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis)

Studying together

Others have found connection over a shared career path or field of study.

Natalie Torres, a senior human development major, has built a community of 23,000 followers on TikTok around her desire to attend medical school after graduation. She posts videos as about her classes, goals and schedule 鈥 the latter of which involves waking up at 3 a.m. so she can work from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. before heading to class.

Her social media presence started as a way to relate to other premed students. Torres noted she doesn鈥檛 put much time into her account 鈥 despite having at least two videos cross the million-view mark (a video encouraging people to work as phlebotomists has been viewed more than 6 million times, and another about the types of required classes she finds difficult is nearing 2 million views). 鈥淚t鈥檚 still a fun way to inspire, aspiring to inspire other premeds that the balance between undergrad and applying to med school is a possibility.鈥

She said other students have recognized her from social media and struck up conversations about her studies.

鈥淚 tell them what I would鈥檝e done differently, but most importantly that everyone鈥檚 path is unique,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 started working in a hospital at 19, and it showed me things I wouldn鈥檛 have seen until medical school. I push the idea of working in a hospital during undergrad to help others get the real deal of what medicine actually looks like.鈥

She works at Sutter Davis Hospital as a phlebotomist and also works as a medical scribe when she is home in Los Angeles, and said people have approached her in the gym to say her videos inspired them to become certified and find a job as a phlebotomist. Torres said she has enjoyed feeling like she鈥檚 influenced fellow students鈥 decisions, but added the conversations she鈥檚 had with them have 鈥渋nspired me in moments where I found it tough to keep going.鈥

Colin McCarthy holds an umbrella outside
Colin McCarthy (Gregory Urquiaga/新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis)

Another student focusing his social media presence on his chosen field of study is Colin McCarthy, an atmospheric science major. He created a Twitter account, , focused on weather when he was in eighth grade and taking frequent backpacking trips with his dad. He later found a niche in extreme storms, and the San Francisco Chronicle called his 鈥渙ne of Twitter鈥檚 hottest weather accounts鈥 in September for his coverage of Hurricane Ian鈥檚 impact on Florida.

He also posted firsthand observations from outside his residence hall showing lightning and historic rainfall in Davis that month 鈥 before he had taken a single class at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis. The freshman鈥檚 account is now nearing 82,000 followers.

鈥淚 kind of cover extreme events all over the world now,鈥 McCarthy said.

In his first few weeks on campus, he had already met people who followed his account. Over the summer, he and a group of friends rented a boat on Lake Tahoe, and the captain said he followed McCarthy鈥檚 account.

A big joke

Not all connections through social media are so serious. Miles Riehle, a sophomore majoring in environmental policy analysis and planning, has extended his self-described 鈥渟ometimes extremely鈥 dry sense of humor to Twitter with a four-second clip of actor Daniel Craig introducing a Saturday Night Live musical act: 鈥淟adies and gentlemen, the Weeknd.鈥

He ushers in the weekend by posting the same clip every Friday evening, usually uploading it around 4 or 5 p.m. (he once noted his post was slightly later because he had fallen asleep). It鈥檚 caught on: The New York Times proclaimed in a headline that 鈥渋t鈥檚 not the weekend until says so,鈥 and his replies are often full of rejoicing.

Riehle said he doesn鈥檛 tell many people about the account in real life because he doesn鈥檛 want to seem like he鈥檚 bragging, but added he has gotten a laugh out of being a part of discussions about the number of followers people have on social media: 鈥淎fter 鈥600鈥 and 鈥榰h, maybe 1,400,鈥 I got a kick out of being able to answer with, 鈥榟mm, maybe about 580,000.鈥欌

He's also shared the fun of his account with friends on campus, telling them ahead of time when he would post his tweet so they could be the first to like it.

鈥淚t was fun having people gather around while I did my weekly ritual of hitting the 鈥榮end tweet鈥 button, and given that it was still relatively early in my first year it was a memorable experience with new friends,鈥 he said.

Career path

Wendy Ly headshot
Wendy Ly (Courtesy)

For others, social media has blossomed into something unexpected.

Wendy Ly 鈥21 started an Instagram account dedicated to skincare in June 2020 so she would have marketing experience to mention on her resume by the time she graduated, but it quickly grew into much more. By that fall she had amassed 10,000 followers on and was earning some money from her account, and in December of that year signed a contract with an agency to negotiate brand sponsorships on her behalf.

Ly said she was taking extra classes to graduate early, and would treat her social media as a full-time job, often staying up until 3 or 4 a.m. filming videos. Progress was good, but she wasn鈥檛 sure the money would be consistent enough to merit making it a career after graduation, she said. Then her accounts 鈥 with 70,000 followers on Instagram and 200,000 on TikTok 鈥 earned her a six-figure income in 2021, just in time for her fall graduation, Ly said. Four months later, she moved to Los Angeles to focus on her budding career.

Her brand continues to grow, and surpassed 1 million subscribers at the end of 2022. She said she grew up in a low-income family, raised by her mother after her father died, and hopes to use her income from social media to one day provide for her family.

鈥淚 am grateful for my sleepless nights,鈥 Ly said. 鈥淚 love what I do and wouldn't trade this for the world.鈥

If you liked this article and want to read more about how Aggies are thriving, then subscribe to get the print edition of 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Magazine mailed directly to you. Hurry, because this issue mails later this month.

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