I lead the University of Iowa's Admissions Student Video Production team, oversee projects from concept through post-production, and build a video-first strategy that boosts engagement and views across Instagram and YouTube.

Reels are where strategy meets instinct. I pick formats and sounds based on what's already working on the platform, then find the Iowa angle that makes it feel like ours, not just another trend we jumped on late.

Using previous years' user-generated content, I created a color palette for every season to inform my decisions on how to create an aesthetically pleasing feed without hampering content quality.

Before

• Mixed color temperatures with warm, cool, and neutral tones competing in the same feed
• No seasonal intentionality; photos chosen for content quality alone, not visual cohesion
• Feed felt busy and inconsistent at a glance

After

• Seasonal color palette applied based on tones students capture throughout the year
• Photo selection guided by both content quality and how each image fits the feed's visual flow
• A cohesive, recognizable aesthetic that feels authentic, not overly curated

Aesthetics matter, but data drives the decisions. In higher ed, I rely on insights from past content to plan what comes next, especially when identifying the types of posts that perform best on Instagram.

Apart from user-generated content, I also spend time creating graphics for the University of Iowa's Admissions social media channels using Adobe Creative Cloud to better understand the audience's aesthetic, and of course, keeping the brand in mind is priority #1

Good stories don't feel like institution content. I design by studying what prospective students are actually posting, then mirroring that aesthetic as closely as brand guidelines allow so our content feels like something they'd make themselves.