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After nearly a year of planning, we finally launched the Colorado State University TikTok account at the beginning of 2022.

If you read my recent blog, “Why Universities Can’t Ignore TikTok Anymore,” you might know our team has been eager to have CSU join the TikTok world as a new way to reach prospective and current students — otherwise known as Gen Z.

Knowing that TikTok is Gen Z’s go-to social media platform, our team was looking at ways we could potentially incorporate CSU’s brand on the app. The hard part was figuring out how to do it.

TikTok users value raw, highly-engaging content usually with someone in front of the camera driving the storyline. But who would be CSU’s main characters?

We thought about what’s worked well for us when trying to engage with Gen Z on social, and we looked at A Ram’s Life, our student-run vlog on YouTube where we have three students regularly vlog about their experiences as students at CSU — the good, the bad, even the monotonous parts of their lives.

Their vlogs are authentic, not overly produced and most importantly, they work.

Applying that same strategic framework, we hired a TikTok team made up of three creative students who help us develop, create and star in TikTok videos.

How to fully enjoy this blog

Step 1: Get to know Aja, Josephine and Sophia from the CSU TikTok team ⬇️

Get to know Alex, who is also one of our CSU vloggers.

Step 2: Follow CSU on TikTok 📱

Where are you from?

Aja Hogan: Originally from Key West, Florida, but I grew up in Buena Vista, Colorado.

Josephine Baron: Aurora, Colorado.

Sophia Elmore: Fort Collins, Colorado.

What’s your major at CSU?

Aja: Journalism and Media Communications, with two minors in Sports Management and Business Administration.

Josephine: Journalism and Media Communications, with a minor in Japanese.

Sophia: Communications and Legal Studies.

Why did you choose CSU?

Aja: I chose CSU because I wanted to go to a big school in Colorado that had lots of opportunities for me and a school that is crazy about their sports!

Josephine: I really liked the campus and I got a great scholarship opportunity.

Sophia: I love Fort Collins.

Why do you like TikTok?

Aja: I think my favorite part about TikTok is that it can be used to connect with people and is a place to be yourself. I like thats it’s more laid back than Instagram and provides more room for creativity.

Josephine: I like the diversity of content, and I’m someone who gets distracted easily, so the short videos help combat that.

Sophia: I love being able to see what people are doing all over the world, and I was excited to share in that with CSU!

What are you most looking forward to during your experience on the CSU TikTok team?

Aja: I’m excited to get to show what makes CSU so special, and I’m excited to show off the community and all the fun activities that happen here.

Josephine: Learning the ins and outs of the social world within a professional area.

Sophia: Getting more social media experience.

What’s your favorite class this year, so far?

Aja: My favorite class this semester is Newswriting. It’s a smaller class size, so it’s nice to get to talk with the professor easily and learn more about the subject. I also get to go out and write about events happening at CSU and create my own stories to investigate.

Josephine: Japanese, because I have made many friends in the classes and the professor is awesome.

Sophia: My favorite class this year is my Legal and Ethical Issues in Business class. It’s super interesting and also very helpful in case I ever want to own a business.

What’s your goal for the future?

Aja: I’m not 100 percent sure. I like the social media management side of my major, so possibly something with that. However, with my major and minors combined and prior knowledge/experience, I could go into sports management and sports coaching. I think it would be really fun to coach higher, elite basketball teams.

Josephine: I want to work as a photojournalist or within documentary, either in crime shows or something like National Geographic. For the latter, I think it would be cool to stay in Japan for that.

Sophia: I want to be a criminal defense lawyer.

Who are your favorite TikTok creators?

Aja: In no specific order, Brooke Ashlyn Hall, the Montest twins and Jean-Victor. I’m a fan of a lot of people, especially within sports.

Josephine: mortemveniet, dawsonish, catluminati, and lauraanunnaki.

Sophia: My favorite TikTok creators are Zoi Lerma and Cassidy Condie.

Who is your most-listened-to artist on Spotify?

Aja: It’s probably between Tiesto, Kenndog or Rihanna.

Josephine: Eve.

Sophia: Khalid.