The number of social media influencers has ballooned in recent years, with TikTok alone reporting over a million creators. But which McGillians are joining the trend? Who among the student body documents campus construction, fieldhouse exams, and library crash-outs? The Tribune interviewed three students who post their daily lives—and more—online, getting to the heart of what compels them to share their stories with the world.
Sheng Qi, U4 Engineering, known online as The Potential Dropout, began his page as a way to cope with the struggles of being a STEM student. He started posting day-in-the-life videos and comedic content in Fall 2021, during his first semester at McGill. In an interview with The Tribune, he explained how his first video sparked his career online.
“I was filming my calculus final and having a mental breakdown,” Qi said. “The next day, the video had half a million views.”
Similarly, Anna Bistour, U2 Arts, garnered unexpected success overnight.
“I started posting [on TikTok] during COVID and doing short videos on YouTube,” Bistour said. “When I went to the U.S. [on exchange], I thought it would be cool if people were interested in what I do. I was sitting in the airport, [and] when I arrived in the U.S., a video I posted reached 500k views.”
Bistour—who came to Canada from France—makes content sharing her daily life in North America with her inquisitive French followers. However, she emphasizes that her overall goal is to uplift students worldwide.
“I aspire to make relatable videos, so I answer a lot of questions and show people what they want to see about North America—then America, now Canada—so that they can have a closer idea of what life is [like] as an international student,” she said.
Amanda Round, a first-year Master of Science student, who became known for her educational videos on different university programs in Canada, expressed a similar goal.
“I was super type A as a student so when I was looking at programs I went out and talked to alumni and professors and I had all this random knowledge and I wanted to fill that gap,” she shared.
While Qi started with relatable content, he has also dabbled in more educational videos, including chemistry tutorials on YouTube. He also launched his own tutoring and events start-up, which is currently in the hiring phase. In his interview with The Tribune, he mentioned Khan Academy as one of his dream collaborations.
Bistour was also interested in pursuing collaborations.
“I’ve always been into studying and school […], so my dream collaboration would be with an organization like UNESCO,” Bistour said. “School takes up a big part of my life, so I want to show people that it’s cooler than it sounds.”
Round spoke about her upcoming side account, where she plans to explain pertinent science topics to the Canadian public.
“I’m trying to do content related to scientific literacy and trying to make these topics, which are important to the Canadian public, accessible,” Round said.
When asked to share some wisdom for anyone interested in starting a public media account, Bistour warned that TikTok can often be a black hole of endless scrolling. However, she appreciates the platform for the community she’s made on it, and the impact you can make on others by using the app.
“Social media is a tight-knit group. I’ve met a lot of people on it,” Bistour said. “Especially people from France [who] have become interested in McGill. One girl told me that she got here because of me, so it’s very rewarding. I know I’m not the only one who does that, but it’s really cool to connect and have shared experiences.”
Round gave a few words of encouragement for anyone aspiring to share their perspectives online.
“I encourage you to get on social media and create content,” Round said. “Only you can communicate in your own way. If you have something to say, you should do it.”
