Name: Amanda Magana
Major: Psychobiology
Hometown: Lake Stevens, Washington
Meet Amanda Magana, an up and coming youtuber that shares advice about college and beauty. With over 7,000 subscribers on Youtube and over 88,000 followers on Instagram, she is sure one to look out for!
HC: What inspired you to create your youtube channel?
AM: When I was applying to colleges during the fall of my senior year in high school, I was researching which school I should attend and trying to find youtube videos of dorm rooms and campus tours and stuff like that! I really didn’t find the content I was looking for! When I finally decided on UCLA, a bunch of students from my old high school started asking me questions about college and how to apply and what UCLA was like. I was beginning to get asked a lot of the same questions, so it was around November of my Freshman year at UCLA that I decided I wanted to start making youtube videos to not only answer the questions of high schoolers I knew, but to answer the questions of high schoolers from all around the world. My main goal was always to be there for students and be that person with answers to very essential questions that I had lingering when I entered my first year of college! College can be uncharted territory for a lot of students and their families, so I think it’s only fair that someone with a first hand perspective, who has experienced all these things including applying to school and such, can offer genuine advice!
HC: What is it like balancing school and your youtube channel?
AM: I am still trying to find the perfect balance and find an uploading schedule that really works for me, but the thing is my schedule is always changing (perks of the quarter system)! The best part of it all though is that when I’m filming and editing videos, it doesn’t feel like work, it is the most fulfilling hobby and I genuinely look forward to coming up with video ideas and turning them into a reality! For now, I film whenever i’m inspired or i’m doing something really cool that week that I want to share with my viewers. I feel like the best videos are the ones that you don’t feel forced to make, but inspirations that just kind of come about!
HC: Are you in any extra-curricular activities at UCLA?
AM: I am heavily involved with residential life at UCLA, I’m an RA in Hedrick Summit and I could not ask for a better job or a better staff. I love any sort of extra-curricular where I can be creative and express myself all while making connections with all kinds of on-campus groups and students alike. I’m also the marketing director for USAC’s General Representative 3, which is awesome and something I was so excited to get involved with. I hope to get involved in more activities in the near future (I want to get involved with the special olympics and volunteer at Ronald Reagan in the spring!)
HC: What has been your greatest experience at UCLA so far?
AM: Wow, how could I pick?! I would have to say it is just a variety of things really, I feel like i’ve grown so much since high school, and UCLA has contributed to that growth in more ways than one. My greatest experience at UCLA thus far has just been making connections with people from all over the world and broadening my horizons and getting involved in things I would have never have seen myself getting the courage to get involved in in high school. I feel like in my own small way, my actions are making a difference in the lives of the people around me. I think that’s what matters, and just knowing my job allows me to be able to reach out to people and be a source of comfort is enough for me. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to attend UCLA, and I know this is where I’m meant to be and can’t wait for more amazing experiences that will continue to shape the person I am.
HC: What are your career aspirations?
AM: My ultimate goal is to graduate with my degree in Psychobiology and move onto medical school and eventually either become a pediatrician or an anesthesiologist. I feel like being in the medical field has always been my calling! Sometime in the future or maybe before I graduate I may want to pick up a minor in communications as well and further my career on youtube!
HC: Any advice to students whom wish to start their own youtube channel?
AM: The best advice I can give a student who wants to start their own youtube channel is to understand patience is a virtue. Good things take time, and you have to not only be willing to put in the time and effort to develop your channel from the ground up, but you have to understand that subscribers and viewers take a long time (typically) to accumulate so you just have to be patient and stick with it! Subscribers and views don’t define the content creator, it doesn’t define the importance of your message you’re sharing. If you know you’re making quality content that is original and totally you, then don’t worry about anything else and just continue to express yourself and the rest will fall into place. Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone, and don’t worry you will get used to talking to the camera;)
HC: What is your favorite thing to do in Westwood?
AM: My favorite thing to do in Westwood is either go walking around at night and relax after a long day of class and get some Diddy Riese, or go shopping because there are such cool spots to go shopping around Westwood. I love Westwood because it’s literally in the most perfect location, it’s close to everything and there is so much to explore. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
HC: Who is your current style muse?
AM: I’m obsessed with Vanessa Hudgens and her style. I’m definitely into the whole boho vibe and I would do anything for her closet. I’m also super into Taylor Swift and how she’s so classy and cool at the same time. I have a very eclectic style that I feel is totally my own and is a mix of so many different celeb style inspirations.
HC: If you could only wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be?
AM: I would definitely have to say leggings and a comfortable t (so fashionable, right?) because I feel like it isn’t what you wear, I feel like if you’re confident you can rock anything and I feel like even though that’s my usual sleeping and lounging around attire, it is by far my favorite thing to wear so I would wear it for the rest of my life happily!
Make sure to check out Amanda and all of her advice on youtube!