Michigan students are the center of the University of Michigan and a driving force behind our social media content. Crafting narratives about their achievements, creating videos to showcase their talents, featuring imagery that represents who they are, and finding new ways to share their profound stories brings the UMSocial team immense joy and pride.
Throughout 2023, we have been lucky to share in so many experiences with Michigan students and to develop content that encapsulates what it means to be a Wolverine. We featured a wide array of amazing students and their accomplishments. Here are some of the stories that stood out:
Engineering On and Off the Field: Life as the 58th Drum Major
This October, UMSocial had the pleasure of interviewing Blake Brdak, the 58th drum major of the University of Michigan Marching Band. The video interview took place on the 50-yard line of Michigan Stadium, a perfect setting for Brdak to discuss his prestigious role with the band and what goes into a football game day. Brdak, a senior computer science major in U-M’s College of Engineering, also goes into detail about his passion for programming and software and how his major connects to his responsibilities as the drum major. With football season in full swing, this feature highlighted a special part of the Michigan Football game day experience while also encapsulating one student’s holistic experience at the university.
Growing the Game of Hockey in Taiwan
Another student feature this fall highlighted Robin Goldman, the president and alternate captain of the U-M women’s hockey team who is also an Asian studies major at the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. The core of the interview, which took place inside Yost Ice Arena, surrounds Goldman’s experience this past summer studying abroad in Taiwan and volunteering with a youth hockey team. Goldman’s experience at U-M is a great example of finding your passion both academically and athletically and then using it to create impact in a community.
Student Organization Profile: Alpha Kappa Alpha
In celebration of Black History Month, we highlighted many Black student organizations on campus, including U-M students Morgan Miller and Jada Jackson of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Miller and Jackson discussed the mission and history of Alpha Kappa Alpha, which celebrated its 90th year at the university in 2023. The sorority was chartered in June 1933 at U-M and, among many goals, works to cultivate high scholastic and ethical standards, promote unity amongst women, and be of service to all mankind.
Vision 2034: Students Share Their Hopes
As the university continues its collective strategic vision process, U-M students shared their hopes for the university’s future. From continued efforts surrounding diversity and inclusion to enhanced sustainability initiatives to more emphasis on mental health, students voiced many of their hopes for the future of the university.
2023 Commencement Film: The World Is Your Canvas
The 2023 Spring Commencement video celebrated the Class of 2023’s journey to graduation and what they achieved at U-M with integrity, creativity, and excellence. The video is focused around the creation of a canvas drawn by a U-M senior that evokes memories of their shared experiences at U-M while incorporating match cuts between a U-M dance major and campus landmarks. The Class of 2023 came to U-M with a “blank canvas” and left the university with one filled with memories.
Looking Back: U-M Graduates
Commencement offers the opportunity to not just celebrate one’s journey at U-M, but to also look back at memories at the university and offer advice to those beginning their journey in Ann Arbor. As part of our Spring Commencement content, members of the Class of 2023 reflected on what they would go back and tell the freshman version of themselves.
Class of 2023: Instagram Collages
In April, U-M’s Instagram account was dedicated to highlighting members of the Class of 2023 through personalized collages that encapsulated their own Michigan experience. A student from every U-M school and college was represented in this campuswide collaborative effort, which also featured a quote from the student sharing memories and/or future plans. These collages provided an outlet to share individual stories as we collectively celebrated the entire graduating class.
