By Ella Bernheisel
As an advertising and public relations student at Penn State university, everything media related is intertwined with my everyday life. Creating my own user generated content (UGC) on social media has aligned my interest with my aspirations as an aspiring young professional in the communications world, while getting to taste the best lattes in State College, PA.
As a senior at Penn State, I’ve enjoyed trying the large number of coffee shops in State College and Bellefonte. I wanted to break away from the trendy, common coffee shop, Starbucks, and support small local businesses that offer more unique menu options. My latte journey began with discovering my favorite places for solo studying or catching up with friends. I turned my latte journey into a social media opportunity to practice my own filming, editing and SEO skills.
The first video I made was for a campaign with Happy Dad that I gained through a partnership with my sorority, All Roads Travel, a company that organizes the logistics of similar UGC partnerships. Although the video I made didn’t fit Happy Dad’s requirements, I posted it with less emphasis on Happy Dad and more on the unique latte I had.
I was inspired to continue creating latte focused videos that began to garner views, likes and saves from other Penn State students. I began to receive feedback as well, getting comments such as “I’ve been wanting to try” and “waiiittt ive been in state college for 2 years & i didnt know they had this many coffee shops!!!”
With videos gaining over 10K views and many positive comments, I felt my impact on Penn State students, encouraging a shift away from chain coffee shops and towards local business. I was motivated to continue posting my experiences at local coffee shops.
Irving’s is a well-established downtown State College staple, so it felt natural to film a review of a Honey Cinnamon Latte I picked up. I was contacted by the owner to make similar videos for their other restaurants, including Sauly Boys, where I am now the Social Media & Content Coordinator. Although not a coffee shop, I use my skills from my personal content creation that was fueled by my passion for coffee and supporting local businesses.
I was able to turn my passion and pastime into a job by stepping out of my comfort zone. Now, I’m able to take this experience into interviews as a professional experience.
Follow along on my latte journey and try out some state college coffee shops: @Ella.bern on TikTok and Instagram !
Happy Valley Comm 