Positive influence

Connor Houston remembers the first time he was recognized for a post he made on social media. He was in seventh grade and had just bought his first drone with his brother. They filmed a video of their neighborhood and uploaded it to YouTube; before he knew it, he was receiving compliments from neighborhood parents.

“Looking back on it, I can understand that what we were doing was much different than a lot of the other kids in our neighborhood,” said Houston (StComm’26). “It felt like we were famous for a brief moment.”

Since then, he has gained significant traction on social media for his content, with more than half a million likes on TikTok and partnerships with brands like Mountainsmith and Monster Brewing.

Influencers sometimes get a bad rap for spreading disinformation or promoting unattainable lifestyles. But Houston and other CMDI students say learning to influence in college teaches them the skills they’ll need in advertising, journalism, communication and more. 

The work influencers do is more nuanced than what’s seen on the surface, said Erin Willis, an associate professor in the advertising, public relations and design department.

“We’re not just teaching students how to be influencers. We’re teaching them the skills that go into that and what companies are hiring for, like content creation and community management,” said Willis, whose research examines so-called “patient influencers”—those with diseases or disabilities whose messaging can influence others’ behaviors. “It’s ironic that we fear influencers, yet rely on them. That’s just the world we’re living in.”

Strategy, not slop

Willis prepares students in her capstone course to learn the difference between slop and strategy– thinking through content to ensure it reaches audiences and achieves goals. This is a skill that influencers like Tatum Merrill, who is majoring in strategic communication, can use to their advantage. 

“My courses in strategic writing and software applications have built my confidence in designing and writing more professionally,” said Merrill, who plans to graduate in the spring of 2027.

Being an influencer has given Merrill opportunities outside of partnerships and brand deals. 

Her first viral video—about a funny interaction with a Starbucks barista—racked up 13.3 million views on TikTok. Despite getting substantial attention, Merrill said her lifestyle content is solely for fun. She’s more interested in working as an account executive or brand manager, which involves a set of strategic skills she’s developing as a student; over the summer, she completed an internship at the public relations agency Clyde, as part of the Heidi L. Wagner CMDI in D.C. program.

Angelica Kalika (MJour’12; PhD’19), an assistant teaching professor of journalism, said learning how these skills fit together helps students speed through early-career growing pains.

“Employers are hungry to find people who are hungry as well,” she said. “Becoming an influencer means becoming a business owner, essentially. And so there’s so much less that employers have to teach you to get you on board.”

A matter of trust

Kalika is teaching a new course this fall on influence journalism, which focuses on preparing students to become credible news influencers—whether they work in legacy media or at an emerging digital platform. The course includes lessons on media literacy, audience engagement and artificial intelligence. 

“We have all been taught to trust in legacy media. So when something new comes along, we are going to be skeptical,” Kalika said. “Teaching Gen Z to become ethical news content creators—to counter the disinformation we see on digital platforms—represents a huge opportunity for the future of journalism and hyper-local news.” 

Houston’s experience reflects many of the skills both Kalika and Willis want students to develop through CMDI: His studies and years of experience as an influencer led him to launch UV9 Studio, a full-service advertising agency, with his brother. 

In other words, yes, the brothers are still making content together. 

“I definitely learned the most from the relationships that I built with my professors,” Houston said. “I have confidence in my work because I asked for their guidance on assignments, and sought feedback when I turned in a project I was proud of.”