This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Emerson chapter.
Emerson is known for its successful alumni, but what if I told you that there is presently a celebrity, here, on campus?
Sasha Alsberg is a Writing, Literature, and Publishing student, but she’s also an extremely well-known name on YouTube. Sasha says, “I’ve been in love with books for as long as I can remember, and it wasn’t until about two years ago that I decided to take my love for books online!” The Chicago native has over 200,000 YouTube subscribers and over 100 videos on her channel, “abookutopia.”
Sasha attended an all girls school in Chicago, and first began “vlogging” – video blogging – her opinions on literature and posting on YouTube in 2013. Just two years later, she had acquired over 125,000 viewers. She explains, “I am a very stubborn and dedicated person. If I set my mind to something, I won’t let anything stop me.”
Her thorough explanations and opinions of popular novels allowed her to gain a large following very quickly.
As of late, her favorite book is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. This book, she explained, influenced her recent trip to Scotland.
Not only has she created a populous YouTube following, but she is also extremely active on other forms of social media. She has become well known on Instagram, for her uncanny resemblance to actress Lily Collins. She stated in a previous interview: “It’s such a compliment, because Lily is gorgeous and so self confident. It really makes me smile when I get compared to somebody like that.”
Her Instagram, followed by over 130,000 accounts, consists of her personal photography. Photography is another one of Sasha’s many hobbies; most of her photos are captured here in Boston.
She frequently holds meet-ups in large cities, especially Boston. These meet-ups are announced on her twitter account, @sashaalsberg, which is also followed by 31,000 people.
Fans describe Alsberg as an inspiration, due to her overcoming a diagnosis of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and Dyslexia, when she was two years old. “Learning to read on your own time, with your own effort, really helped me,” she explained in one of her videos.
She stated: “One of my goals is to eventually write a book. I don’t think I’m ready right now, but hopefully it will come in the future, after all of this knowledge I’m receiving from Emerson. There are so many opportunities here.”
I had the pleasure of interviewing Sasha about her experiences with YouTube, and her decision to come to Emerson. She offered a lot of inspirational and helpful insight on how she achieved success, and how she retains it.
HC: Why did you start making videos?
SA: “Well, my mom died three years ago. The reason I wanted to start making videos was that, instead of being depressed or giving into emotions that were weighing down on me, I decided: why not find an outlet and put all of my effort into it? I started YouTube, because I loved reading, I loved expressing my thoughts on reading, but I didn’t know how to, until I saw that there was a platform called ‘book-tubing,’ (YouTubing about books.) I am also dyslexic, and my mom really helped me through my dyslexia, so I feel like I’m honoring her memory when I’m reading.”
HC: Do you have a favorite series, or book in general?
SA: “Yes. It’s hard to narrow it down because there’s so many, but my favorite book right now is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It’s an amazing book, and it’s one of the reasons that I went to Scotland this past summer.”
HC: You chose Emerson, was it your first choice?
SA: “Yes! And I was so nervous I wouldn’t get in, that once I found out the result, I posted a video of my first hand reaction of getting into Emerson. I was freaking out! I couldn’t picture myself anywhere else, and I plan to study abroad, hopefully next year, in Scotland.”
HC: What made Emerson stand out to you?
SA: “Their Writing, Literature, and Publishing major. No other school I looked at had that. They had writing and literature majors, but never had any publishing. Publishing is what I want to go into, so when I found out Emerson offered it, I ended up falling in love.”
HC: What do you hope to see in the future with your YouTube channel?
SA: “I hope it keeps growing and expanding. I want my channel to continue to be inspirational for younger readers. I love when parents come up to me and say, ‘you’re a great role model.’ Hopefully I can make this into some sort of career that I can also tie into publishing.”
Hopeful and excited for the future, no goal for Alsberg is out of reach. After all, “impossible” is not in her vocabulary.
