After a project in his English class, senior Doston Ortikovv was inspired to give a voice to Creek students. Along with seniors Lucas Zang and Muller Mboka, they founded “Humans of Creek,” an Instagram account showcasing students’ lives.
The creators of this account describe it as a social project inspired by Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York. “We took this idea from him because it was very inspirational, and we would like to learn a lot of stories at Creek,” Ortikovv said.
Stanton, a photographer in New York, started Humans of New York in 2010, and has since grown on social media, leading to similar accounts that strive to capture the unique stories of different citizens.
Each post on the Humans of Creek Instagram spotlights one student underlining their personal experiences, goals, and interests. The account features a photo of the interviewee, a quote, and a brief paragraph describing the person.
For one post, the club interviewed junior Ariana Soloman who does gymnastics. “Ariana’s impressive academic performance is matched by her dedication to her passions outside of the classroom, particularly in gymnastics and music” the Instagram post read.
The process starts when the members look for someone and approach them to ask if they would like to be interviewed. Often, they’re looking for students at Creek that they think would have an interesting background or fun story to tell.
“The three chased me down and told me they wanted to interview me, and I jumped at the opportunity,” junior Scott Weiner said.
From varsity athletes, to car enthusiasts, to aspiring artists, Humans of Creek is building a platform for anyone who is willing to share their story.
Weiner believes that getting to know eachother can motivate students and help and define their goals. “Humans of Creek will bring the individual stories of everyone to the forefront of the student body, making Creek a less ignorant place,” Weiner said.
Other interviewees had similar views on the idea.
“I feel that Humans of Creek will be able to broaden people’s view onto the diversity throughout Creek and make people have a better understanding of what goes on,” sophomore Noah Kasperbauer said.
With 17 students interviewed so far, Humans of Creek is reaching their mission of learning everyone’s stories and spreading them before graduation. Ortikovv mentioned a future goal of opening their project to not only students, but ex-students, teachers, and faculty.
“The main takeaway is that people can learn a lot more by just learning about someone’s story,” Ortikov said.
