Last semester, Ryan Leshock, senior in Media, started the “What song are you listening to?” trend on campus that has garnered him millions of views on TikTok.

Leshock said he first got the idea to start the trend on TikTok from watching a version of the trend on YouTube. He realized there was an audience for this trend and noted that TikTok could have a great influence if used appropriately.

“It was really interesting to see how … strong people feel about their opinions on all these different artists, music types and genres,” Leshock said. “I almost saw the trends I was doing as a time capsule.”

Beyond the TikTok trend, Leshock has worked on other creative endeavors as part of Elevated Media, the video production company he started during his junior year of high school.

Leshock said Elevated Media was originally created for the sole purpose of selling aerial work commercially since he asked his father for a drone and eventually came up with the idea of aerial real estate.

“After aerial real estate for the company, it’s just kind of transitioned into whatever short films I was doing,” Leshock said. “All of my freelance and contractor opportunities are through Elevated Media, so I’ve had a lot of really cool experiences.”

He referenced Greek life recruitment videos and an independent documentary where he did drone pilot and sound technician work as two types of projects that stand out to him.

Professor Victor Font has had the opportunity to have Leshock in a few classes and collaborate with him as well. He spoke to Leshock’s proactive, dedicated nature regarding work, referencing one of Leshock’s recent movies as a perfect example of how he has evolved his production skills.

“I was just shadowing and following what he was doing,” Font said. “He finished the movie basically in four months. I saw that he was really involved in that project … When he showed me one of his first rough cuts, I said, ‘You have to show that. You have to have a premiere here.’”

Font added that Leshock is always working on something and always doing something, again referencing Leshock’s proactivity within media production.

As Leshock looked to the future, he also considered how he hopes his work continues to impact others.

“I want to make people feel,” Leshock said. “If I can create something like a work of art or some kind of communication that gets them to respond emotionally, I think that’s a success for me, and hopefully I do so in a positive way for society.”

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