Hello, I'm Freddy the Falcon, the school mascot of the University of Wisconsin - River Falls (UWRF)! In Spring 2020, I took creative control over Freddy's social media accounts, primarily Instagram, as that is the most popular media channel with students of UWRF. 

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The main goals of Freddy's social media accounts are to: connect with the student body, encourage engagement with the University and the variety of events, programs, etc. that it offers, and increase awareness of Freddy the Falcon as a representative of the University. 

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As an intern, I brought my photography, videography, and organizational skills to grow Freddy's follower base, engage more with students, and (especially after the COVID-19 pandemic hit) encourage students to follow best practices for COVID-19 protocols. ​​​​

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#BeLikeFreddy Campaign​​

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In Fall 2020, UWRF was primarily functioning online. Like many Universities, we were facing many challenges with encouraging safe COVID-19 practices such as: encouraging testing, social distancing, quarantining, etc. 

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This led to our first campaign, #BeLikeFreddy. Because Freddy the Falcon already

engages with students and has rapport built with them, he was in a unique position to encourage students to be responsible while still relating to them in this difficult time. 

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One of the key parts of this campaign was encouraging COVID-19 testing. At the beginning of the semester, our on-campus testing center had low engagement. Many people were afraid of getting tested, unsure about how to, or otherwise skeptical. To solve this, I directed a video titled, "Freddy Gets Tested" to show the student body the testing process from start to finish in an approachable way. I collaborated with the University's videographer on the video below. By the end of the semester, our campus testing numbers had increased, and students found the process to be simple and more accessible. ​