Meet the human behind Humans of OBU: Marissa Pilcher
January 01, 2020
It probably was strange for Marissa Pilcher to sit down at the table as the one answering
questions and telling her story. Usually she is the one asking questions and telling someone’s story.
Meet the Ouachita student who runs the Humans of OBU account on Instagram.Marissa
Pilcher could be described as kind with a bubbly spirit. She is a senior mass communications
and Spanish double major at Ouachita. She is interested in music and animals and never
imagined handling a popular Instagram account for her university.
Marissa took over the little-used account, inspired by the popular Humans of New York
series, in spring 2016. She sees it as a platform for students to connect and to
tell the stories of the Ouachita campus community.
The account is a branch of Ouachita’s student newspaper, The Signal, and has gained a following of more than 1,100 while featuring more than 80 stories. A variety of people have been featured including students, professors, staff and faculty kids. The account also has featured twins, best friends and campus couples.
“Even though Ouachita is really small, I think Humans is a really cool way for people to connect. Maybe they won’t be friends, but from the stories people share, others can connect with them,” Marissa said. “It’s just a cool way to build relationships. They are getting to know more people on campus without the pressure of ‘you have to be friends now.’ People get to see a glimpse of others’ lives.”
There is an obvious impact across the campus because of the Instagram account. What was already a small university community has now become even more tight-knit and personal. The way the stories are told shows a part of each person’s personality. The account doesn’t just showcase the students who are involved in every activity on campus, but also highlights those who aren’t.
“It sounds really cliché but everyone has a story and wants to be heard,” Marissa shared. “Even if it's a funny, goofy, awkward story, how many times do they get to share that with a lot of people? They normally just share them with their friends. It’s a cool outlet for people to share their stories.”
Here are a few of our favorite @HumansOfOBU posts. Be sure to follow @HumansOfOBU and @Ouachita on Instagram!
Ryan: "One time the fire alarm went off at like three in the morning on a Sunday night. It was raining. I actually didn't hear it while I was asleep so my mom had to come get me." Reyna: "I was still in bed and I was like, 'Should I get up?' I like my sleep." Ryan Rogers, 9 years old, 3rd grade. Reyna Rogers, 11 years old, 7th grade. Rickey Rogers, 13 years old, 8th grade
A photo posted by Humans Of Ouachita (@humansofobu) on
"The weirdest good thing is people are very nice. People back home are not very hugging, but people like hug here so it makes me feel close." Zhenxiu Lu. Sophomore. Zhenjiang Shaoxing, China
A photo posted by Humans Of Ouachita (@humansofobu) on
By Sarah Davis, a junior mass communications and Christian studies/Christian ministry double major from Beebe, Ark.
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Do you have a story you’d like to tell on the Ouachita Voices blog? Or a friend who needs to tell a story on the blog? Contact [email protected] with your idea.
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