A notebook and a smartphone are two accessories you could expect to see in the hands of any college student – but for one in particular, they are the tools she uses to capture her inspirations.
Sophomore Savannah Falter is not the typical reporter. She does not write about sporting events, breaking news, or her own opinion – she simply tells the stories of her peers through iPhone photos and quirky quotes.
Last April, Falter created a Facebook page modeled after the famous “Humans of New York” blog that profiles New York City locals through pictures and quotations.
“I saw two guys playing chess instead of going to lunch one day, and I just thought it was so Hillsdale,” she said. “We have a super fascinating group of people here. So I thought, why not, in my four years, embrace all of this goodness and start talking to people about their stories?”
“Humans of Hillsdale,” Falter’s Facebook page, reached almost 300 likes in a matter of weeks. With subjects ranging from campus celebrities like ‘Saga Steve’ to insightful graduating seniors, Humans of Hillsdale grabbed the attention of many, including Hannah Strickland from the college marketing department. After Falter featured Strickland on the page, Strickland was immediately impressed by Falter’s creative idea and warm personality.
“She’s adorable and she’s really easy to talk to. Savannah’s the kind of person that can get other people to say these kinds of things,” Strickland said.
When Falter returned to campus at the end of August, she was immediately offered a job on the college marketing department’s social media team to expand her idea. The marketing department’s “Faces of Hillsdale” campaign now fills the Hillsdale College Facebook page with photos of students and faculty members captioned with their quoted response to a question prompted by Falter.
Though she gets to choose the people she features, Falter admits to getting nervous when approaching them.
“I’ve gotten better at it. I used to get so nervous that I’d forget to mention that I’m working for the marketing department, so I’d just go up to people and be like, ‘Hey, can I get to know you?’”
Falter seems to be the only person that notices her nerves. Junior Monika Keller was one of the first students that Falter featured and noted how comfortable Falter made her feel during the interview.
“She’s so warm. I think she’s really good at openly talking to people about things and having an opinion without being judgmental. We talked for a really long time and we didn’t get to the actual question she was asking me until the end,” Keller said.
As an aspiring writer, that’s Falter’s favorite part of her interviews – getting to know people from all different types of stories and backgrounds. When asked about the stories she’s covered so far, her eyes started twinkling and a sweet grin filled her face.
“When I’m interviewing someone, I start to get so excited about what they’re saying that I just start asking more and more questions about their history. So my interviews usually end up taking much longer than I originally intended.”
Her favorite question to ask?
“‘What is something about you that most people don’t know?’ I love asking that question, because people’s personalities really come out and it’s so interesting to see,” she said.
When asked her favorite question herself, however, Falter had to think for a second.
“I lived in Albania for a month. And also, I can wiggle my ears.”
