Attending school was generally a given for 20-yr-old communications significant Katie Feeney — even after her social media adhering to skyrocketed by the hundreds of thousands when she was nonetheless in high school, submitting about lifestyle trends. Now, the Penn Point out junior from Olney, Maryland, is blazing her own trail to a vocation in sports journalism. She’s marrying social media with conventional broadcasting by reporting by way of her Iphone for TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Under no circumstances intellect her 7.4 million followers on TikTok, 930,000 on Instagram, 3.3 million subscribers on YouTube, and 1.1 million on Snapchat — in April 2022, Feeney was signed on as the to start with-ever social media correspondent for the Washington Commanders, has by now documented from Tremendous Bowl LV, and in November 2022 became a White Property social media correspondent for AKSM Media.

Even though Feeney may be finest regarded for her guiding-the-scenes snippets from online games, White Property occasions, and schooling camps, she’s adamant that her “lane” is simply just Katie and is not described by any a single specialized niche. She also posts OOTDs, developments, GRWMs, unboxings, working day-in-the-daily life shorts, and other lifestyle information about higher education existence.

Beneath, Feeney tells Elite Daily about her route to sports journalism and the most crucial lessons she’s learned along the way.

Elite Every day: You’re heading into your junior year at Pennsylvania State University. What led you there?

Katie Feeney: Originally I was setting up to go to the University of Maryland, my household school. It designed the most sense monetarily, and my brothers went there. But I started building my very own funds as a result of social media and was able to pay out for my have college.

Penn Condition is a huge football college, which was the factor that led me here the most. The spirit right here is contrary to nearly anything I have at any time viewed before. I’ve generally been surrounded by sports I played them rising up and danced my total life. And despite the fact that the campus is large, it is not surrounded by a huge metropolis — it is kind of in the center of nowhere, but which is what I like about it.

ED: What has been your beloved component of college lifetime so considerably?

KF: Soccer year is surely the very best time at Penn Condition. Right up until you go to a Penn State match, it is difficult to even describe, but the students are just so spirited. There is also Penn State THON, which is the major pupil-operate philanthropy [in the world]. I was capable to get definitely involved with that during my freshman and sophomore decades, and we lifted cash for childhood cancer study.

ED: You are all about the higher education written content now, but you’ve been an influencer considering that prolonged ahead of that. How and when did you first get started out on social media?

KF: I commenced in middle university on Musical.ly — I produced individuals cringey films for enjoyment with my close friends. Then I created a ton of dance video clips since I was dancing for several hours a working day, and some began to go viral, and I received a bit of a adhering to. Once I bought into large faculty, I’d make TikTok video clips with my good friends, but I stopped for a minimal little bit due to the fact being recognised as the “TikTok girl” was hard for me.

But I experienced this realization just one evening, imagining “Why am I heading to allow all of these views affect what I really like to do?” So I ongoing and begun doing life style content material like unboxing videos. As soon as YouTube Shorts came out, I posted all the time and went from 20,000 subs to 3.3 million.

ED: You initially designed your adhering to by executing life-style written content. How did you start out incorporating sports activities?

KF: I didn’t start off accomplishing that right until coming to Penn Condition. Even though I liked that it was a huge football faculty, I was just contemplating I’d write-up relatable school content material. But when I initial went on the area for a Penn State sport as a freshman, every thing changed.

My very first game was the Penn Point out White Out [a tradition in which all spectators wear white], which is a big game when it will come to Large 10 football. I captured it as a result of my place of view: the ambiance, the enjoyment. There’s almost nothing I didn’t adore about it. I cried at the conclusion of the sport, considering “This is the finest detail ever. I’ve by no means professional nearly anything like this.” I knew from that minute on that I desired to do something in sports activities.

ED: Were there any specific ordeals that led you to go after athletics broadcasting especially?

KF: My very first definitely significant expertise in sports was the Super Bowl in 2022. I went with YouTube, and I experienced never ever seen that level of expert sports activities or been surrounded by other broadcasters at press interviews. Although I was there, I posted 50 YouTube Shorts, and they obtained a total of 35 million sights. It sparked some thing in my head: This is type of a distinctive edition of broadcasting — it’s me conversing to my mobile phone as an alternative of holding a microphone.

ED: Your 1st huge gig was with the Washington Commanders as their very first social media correspondent in April 2022. How did this affect your upcoming occupation aspirations?

KF: That was a surreal instant. I was ready to go on the industry for a bunch of games and go to their teaching camps. I captured a whole lot of behind the scenes to display the environment at FedExField. I enjoy finding to display people today factors they would not typically be capable to see. Achieving a young supporter base is a purpose of mine — having men and women to tumble in love with football who possibly have under no circumstances watched a activity just before.

ED: You are also newly a White Residence social media correspondent for AKSM Media. What is a working day in the daily life like?

KF: I do a great deal of the particular event protection. I go to D.C. a handful of occasions a yr for functions like the [official unveiling of White House holiday decor]. I went when the Super Bowl LVII champs Kansas Metropolis Chiefs frequented and captured almost everything that goes on that you would not typically see on Television.

Regardless of what is heading on that working day, I’ll capture it on my telephone and edit it. We’ll do a large amount of exercise standup, so I’ll have an true camera and follow chatting about the function, which is new to me due to the fact it’s definitely broadcasting as opposed to the social media I typically do. It is been great to merge the two.

ED: As a pupil juggling numerous passions, what have you figured out about oneself?

KF: I adore to do it all. I made use of to struggle with picking a niche to concentration on. I like to unbox packages I like to chat about make-up, magnificence, and manner and I also appreciate sporting activities. But my specialized niche is myself — these are all the points I appreciate to do, and at the finish of the day, if you like something, you just have to go for it. The only person’s view that matters is your have.

ED: What path you are hoping to just take your journalism and media career soon after college?

KF: In the limited expression, I want to commence generating lengthy-kind YouTube videos. My prolonged-expression goals are to continue on to work in the sports industry and to acquire my followers alongside with me on my journey. I want to examine other athletics together with football — possibly hockey or NBA. Social media in the athletics earth is nonetheless very new.

I would also like to have my have podcast and my very own enterprise. For a podcast, I’d like to be able to share words and phrases of knowledge going from getting a teenage girl to now in faculty, and converse about wellbeing and health and what it is like being a woman in sports activities. Not only the great things I have been in a position to do, but also the daily stuff that everyone bargains with. I’m exploring each lane achievable, but I consider that is Ok. I do not consider I have to pick one particular.

This job interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.