Not all teaching happens in a classroom. Such is the case with NC State’s Student Creator Program. Launched in 2024, the program helps a cohort of 12 students gain professional skills while working as social media content creators. The students aren’t just ambassadors or influencers; they work directly with communications staff in the university’s social media hub and receive training as part of a structured curriculum.

The program grew out of a need for more video content on the university’s social media channels. But the student creators don’t just add to team capacity — they fill a greater need: They know what kind of content other students want to consume. 

“We could never emulate the expertise that they have,” says Victoria Bliss, who built and runs the program. Empowering students to create content not only ensures it’s relevant, it also guarantees that it is student-centered. This intentional approach, Bliss says, “allows a student to see themselves represented in the media that we’re creating [and] see themselves at the university.”

“[This intentional approach] allows a student to see themselves represented in the media that we’re creating [and] see themselves at the university.”  
— Victoria Bliss

Jada Williams ’24 was part of the program’s original cohort. As a textiles major, she didn’t see a full-time communications job in her future, but, she says, “a big part of my college experience was the Student Creator Program.” It made such an impression that she now leads a student creator program for the College of Education. 

“Working in the College of Education has taught me how important it is to be a teacher,” Williams says. “It also has made me realize all the teachers in my life.” She points to Bliss and other staff in the social media hub who support the students in the program. “It feels like a safe space where you can pitch them [an idea], and they’re like, ‘Come on, let’s do it,’” Williams says.

Eventually Williams wants to combine her degree with her communications skills. This is exactly the outcome Bliss aims for. Having intentionally designed the program to support students from any major, Bliss wants to prepare students for their first jobs, which are often unstructured. “You get to the workplace, and it’s like, ‘Just start doing your job description,’” Bliss says.

“If I can give them the ability to have that autonomy and self-efficacy … that’s what I want them to learn.”  

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