The “Parking Lot Selfie Guy”
By Elysian Alder | Editor-in-Chief
Julian Anderson is the 20 year old Media Arts and Technology (Audio Concentration) major who took the Mount’s new Student Feed app by storm when he decided to kick off the semester by posting a selfie of himself sitting on the trunk of his car. The caption? ‘Parking Lot Selfie, Day 2.’
“I knew at first people might approach me, asking me if I was the guy who posted selfies in the parking lot, but I wasn’t that nervous,” said Anderson. “It was more for me than it was for anyone who liked following along with my selfie journey.”
Anderson is in his first year at the Mount, having moved from Hanson to Leominster, where he lives in an apartment by himself. “I did a lot of research on audio programs in Massachusetts, and the one with the most positive reviews was the program at the Mount,” he explained, detailing why he chose to attend MWCC.
Like many students, Anderson spent his first day trying to learn his way around campus, getting signed up for some of the services the Mount has to offer (like the gym), ordering textbooks, looking into upcoming events, and preparing himself for the semester ahead. “I knew maintaining certain habits would be key to my success academically,” he said. “Showing up to school every day isn’t easy all the time, but I knew I had people on the app that would hold me accountable if I missed a day and didn’t upload a selfie. I got into a habit of it pretty quickly, only forgetting once early on. I’ve only missed two days so far this semester.”
The aforementioned ‘people on the app’ include not only fellow students, but also some of the leadership at the Mount. “One day I didn’t upload a selfie until later than usual, and the Dean of Students, Jason Zelesky, commented, “I was getting worried!” on my post,” said Anderson.
James Smith, a 55 year old Human Services major with hopes of becoming an addiction counselor, recently took to the app to post his own iterations of parking lot selfies—usually featuring his motorcycle. “Seeing Julian’s pictures simply inspired me with his daily upbeat and infectious display,” said Smith, explaining his appreciation for Anderson and his selfie trend. “I appreciate his attitude. It inspires [me] to stay positive and remain teachable.”
Smith isn’t the only one talking up Anderson’s selfies, either. “Many of my classmates will tell me when they hear their other friends talking about “the parking lot selfie guy,” and they’ll say that they know me,” Anderson shared. “Their friends will light up with excitement as if I’m a mini-celebrity on campus.” Anderson says that his peers on the Media Services team are also fans of his presence on the app.
As far as other forms of social media go, Anderson tries to strike a healthy balance when it comes to his usage. “I try to make sure I spend some of my time posting things I’m interested in posting, rather than scrolling through posts that I’m not interested in seeing,” he said. “I would say I probably use Instagram the most. I don’t post anything like my parking lot selfies on any other platforms, but I have done daily challenges before where I have to do something every day.”
Anderson enjoys seeing a variety of content on MWCC’s Student Feed app, especially posts that aren’t necessarily tied to school events. He appreciates seeing his peers use the platform to simply share their thoughts, as well as lighthearted and silly content, and he hopes to continue to contribute to the feed for semesters to come. “…hopefully every school day until I graduate,” he said. “It’s given me a lot of consistency and I’ve also met people and gotten close to people just by taking 30 seconds out of my day to take a selfie!”
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