Kendra Valkema
YEAR Senior
AGE 22
FROM Holland, MI
MAJOR Psychology
BLOG Girl & Granola
“What really draws me to specific blogs that I keep coming back to over and over is the ability to actually inspire me to make a recipe and share it with other people, rather than looking at a picture and thinking ‘I could never actually make that.’ It’s awesome to make that kind of food but I don’t think that’s what the blogging platform is necessarily for. It should be a two-way communication, where your reader can relate to you.”
Monica Cheng
YEAR Sophomore
AGE 20
FROM Carmel, IN
MAJOR Psychology
BLOG Pass the Cocoa
“When my friend and I first started Pass the Cocoa, we had basically no audience other than our parents. But over these past two years we’ve really seen an increase in traffic and also
recognition from some selective food galleries that judge based off of photography. Hershey’s Kitchens even offered to feature one of my recipes on their website. It’s really incredible to realize there are people reading our blog and actually making our recipes.”
Tian Yuan
YEAR Senior
AGE 22
FROM Pittsburgh, PA
MAJOR Biology
BLOG Tiancakes
“I really just enjoy being in the kitchen. Blogging reminds me to try things for the journey, just for my own enjoyment, which is something I think I’ve forgotten a lot in college. Blogging is a positive cycle for me; it keeps me motivated because if I haven’t posted in a while that means I haven’t cooked in a while, and it inspires me to make things well so that I can write about them.”
Megan Suckut
YEAR Junior
AGE 21
FROM New Richmond, WI
MAJOR Journalism & History
BLOG Nibbles & Noshing
“I spent a lot of time looking at food blogs and coming up with ideas of my own, but I put off starting my own blog for so long. I was just like, ‘Oh, I’ll do that someday, like when I’m cooking and living on my own.’ But if you’re really interested and gung ho about doing something, then just do it — because if you have the inspiration and the motivation, why wait? Why not take take advantage of that and go for it?”
Analiese Trimber
YEAR Graduated 2013
AGE 21
FROM Alexandria, VA
MAJOR Flute Performance
BLOG The Bacon Princess
thebaconprincess.wordpress.com
“I think that being funny is the fastest way to connect to an audience, whether in person or over the Internet. I want my blog to make people laugh so that they’re engaged immediately by my writing and are like, ‘This girl’s funny, I’m gonna make her food.’ My blog says: I’m young, I just graduated from college, I’m poor, and I’m trying to come up with really awesome food on a $30 Trader Joe’s weekly budget.”
INTERVIEWS HAVE BEEN EDITED AND CONDENSED.