Student’s take over Owens campus’ Instagram account

Two Owens Campus students are sharing with the population of Delaware Technical Community College a little piece of the daily life of a student.

Communications students Adam Smith and Caitlin Chaney “took over” the college’s Instagram account on April 11 and will continue posting through May 20.

Public Relations Manager Jason Burlew said the idea for the takeover came from Delaware Tech President Dr. Mark Brainard as a way to get students more involved in the school’s social media platforms. He said it was an opportunity for each campus to reach its students in a more direct way by providing “a day in the life” of a student.

“The thought was that students might relate more with other students,” he said. “It would make the posts more personable if they knew a fellow student was making them rather than a faculty member from the campus.”

He said the goal is to see if the college can interact and engage with students in a new way so that maybe the social media accounts can create a new dialogue among the students and increase follows.

Burlew said Delaware Tech reached out to Tipton Communications in Newark to help the college create guidelines and suggestions for the students, since it’s the first time a student has been allowed access to manage and directly post on any of the college’s social media platforms.

“This is a pilot program to see how it would work and to gather feedback to see what changes might need to be made,” he said.

After May 20 when the takeover ends, the college-wide Marketing & Public Relations Committee will convene and make a list of things that worked and things that didn't work.

“We will make recommendations for future student social media takeovers,” Burlew said. “But we fully expect to have something similar take place in the fall semester.”

Burlew said it was a process to find the right students to do the takeover. He said they got suggestions from different department chairs and faculty members and then put those students through an interview process to narrow it down to two.

“We were looking for students who were in good standing academically, who would be able to communicate with the audience without too much direction, and who would represent Delaware Tech in a positive manner,” he said.

Communications major Adam Smith said taking pictures for the Instagram page is somewhat easy for him. He said although a lot of students solely focus on what goes on inside of the classroom, he enjoys being pretty active on campus.

“I have three classes and I work here, so I’m here probably about 12 hours a day anyway,” he said. “There’s usually time gaps between everything that I do and there’s always something going on in those gaps.”

At the end of the week students should have posted between 5 to 10 pictures on the Instagram page that are spontaneous. He said the college didn’t want them to set up things for pictures or specifically go to an event to take a picture.

“They wanted it to be organic and about what’s happening in our daily lives,” he said. “It’s supposed to be what I’m experiencing at Del Tech, not just general advertising of things that the school does.”

Communications major Caitlin Chaney said some days are harder than others in regards to finding things to take pictures of. She said there’s usually something going on or she can take a picture of the campus itself because it’s so pretty.

“My goal is to show things that are interesting or make Del Tech look good,” she said. “Thankfully our school is great so I don't have to try very hard to find things.”

She said she thinks the students have enjoyed the takeover because it has given a more reliable perspective than just a faceless faculty member. She said it gives the students an opportunity to see what they can do around campus, which is good for both current and prospective students. Overall she said her and Smith show things that all students can relate and connect to.

“They might be able to say ‘oh hey that’s my class’ or ‘that’s my friend sitting outside’,” she said. “But in other ways, I hope to show some events or classroom activities that students might not otherwise see and that will pique their interest.”

To follow along with Caitlin Chaney and Adam Smith’s experiences, follow the Owens Campus’ Instagram page @dtccowens.