From the Nominator

The NC State Student Creator Program empowers students to shape the university's narrative. Launched in January 2024, the program employs 12 student staff members to produce authentic content reflecting the diverse student experience, covering topics from research and academic achievements to campus traditions and community engagement. Targeting current and prospective students, the program increases student visibility across university communications. Funded by Enrollment Management and Services and representing a unique collaboration between University Advancement, University Communications and Marketing, and Enrollment Management and Services, the program is supported by a dedicated full-time position, the social media advisor for student-generated content. This role manages the student team, coordinates projects and partnerships, reports analytics, and contributes to university-wide communications. Within its first year, the program generated 269 pieces of content across 25 social media channels. In total, posts reached over 7 million users and garnered 600,000 interactions. The best-performing post, a student take on a trend inspired by the movie “Interstellar,” is the most-viewed NC State content piece ever, with 5.4 million views and 250,000 interactions. The post's success stemmed from its relatability to all college students. The program operates with a strong foundation of well-defined policies, procedures, and workflow, as well as a unique payment model. It takes a student-centered approach to project management and invests in students’ personal and professional development. Long-term, the program aims to expand student ambassadorship to prospective students and alumni.

From the Judges

It is clear from the documented results that the program is having an amazing impact and will probably continue to grow in meaningful and measurable ways. We were impressed with the design of this program and its ability to rally the NC State community.