“Hey guys, welcome back to the vlog!”
Words that have left my mouth more times than I can count.
I started my Stanford experience the same way I start most things in life — through video. I spent four years in my high school’s video production program, and after unintentionally becoming a YouTuber by posting my Stanford acceptance video, I made myself a promise: I would document every important moment of my college journey. Not for the algorithm or the likes, but because storytelling through video has always been how I connect with the world.
And document I did.
Every move-in, every first week of a new quarter, every formal, every late-night adventure and every spontaneous trip made its way into my vlogs. I brought my camera everywhere — not just to capture the big milestones, but to hold onto the little moments that make Stanford what it is. The ones you don’t realize are special until later.
I filmed friendships as they were forming, documented growth as it was happening and captured the most special moments in my life in its rawest, unfiltered state. From late-night talks in dorm lounges to exploring new cities during my two study abroad quarters, my camera saw it all. But more than that — it helped me see it all, to pause and appreciate the journey in front of me.
If you recognize my name writing this column, it might be from another place my camera took me: The Stanford Daily.
I joined The Daily two weeks before the start of freshman year and never left. The Daily house became my second home. Seriously. If I’m not at my dorm there’s a 90% chance I’m at my video editing desk at The Daily.
I found a creative home in the walls of 456 Panama Mall. For the past four years, I was a news anchor, video producer, video editor and virtually every role that required me to use a camera. I came in as a freshman with a passion for video journalism, and I leave knowing that I helped shape The Daily’s video section into what it is today.
At my core, I am a video storyteller. It’s how I process the world. It’s how I make sense of change, celebrate joy and reflect on growth. Being surrounded by a community that believes in the power of storytelling has one of the biggest blessings of my college experience.
I am forever grateful for everyone who made these the best four years of my life. For the people who trusted me to tell their stories. For the friends who let me point a camera at them and star in my vlogs (again and again and again). For the professors and mentors who encouraged me to keep creating. And for The Daily, which believed in storytelling from the start.
As I close this chapter and end my four-year-long series of videos, I am proud of how much I’ve grown both behind the camera and in front of it. And I know that whatever comes next in life, I can look back at all my videos and watch these memories come back to life.
So for one last time — this is Janelle Olisea with The Stanford Daily. Signing off.