From UNICEF Club Member to Social Media Influencer

One career has risen to the spot of most desired amongst Gen Z: becoming a social media influencer. But what exactly does that entail? 

Between the ages of 16 and 21, I went from being an active club member and officer of a UNICEF club to becoming a content creator and social media influencer with over 700,000 followers.  

How? One pandemic, a summer of boredom and a good dose of delusion.  

My name is Deborah, aka @dobochobo, and as a full-time college student, YouTuber and UNICEF USA intern, I am constantly juggling the various tasks and responsibilities these various positions require of me. When most people hear the word “influencer,” they probably don’t think of someone who looks like me — a bespectacled, five-foot-five Asian girl, who spends most of her days either overly caffeinated or falling asleep in her classes. 

There is nothing particularly outlandish or special about my beginnings, and despite having almost 500,000 subscribers on YouTube alone, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell just by looking at my life. My grades were decent, I had good friends and I was privileged enough to have participated in various extracurriculars throughout my life — and yet there was nothing that I particularly enjoyed or felt like I had a special talent in. I joined a UNICEF club during my sophomore year of high school because my favorite teacher was the supervisor for the club, and let’s be honest, I also needed those volunteer hours. 

But I quickly realized that joining a UNICEF club was about more than getting volunteer hours. As a club member, I honed my organizing skills and found a passion for cultivating community and advocating for children’s rights and mental health awareness. When I became a club officer and doubted my abilities to lead, I learned the importance of showing up regardless of how I felt at the moment, pushing past my desire for unattainable perfection. I didn’t realize it then, but the habits and skills I gained through UNICEF set me up for becoming a successful content creator. UNICEF gave me the confidence to use my voice and express myself long before I even thought about starting a YouTube channel.  

As a club member, I honed my organizing skills and found a passion for cultivating community and advocating for children's rights and mental health awareness.

I happened to be part of the unfortunate high school class of 2020, the year that our world was flipped upside down by COVID-19. In just a few months I went from leading UNICEF club meetings and planning my senior year trip, to long days sitting at my computer with no end in sight. My hope diminished by the day as all my senior year plans, including my prom and graduation, were canceled one by one. In a time when I was isolated and struggling to transition from the familiarity of high school to the cadence of university life at home, the Internet not only kept me entertained but also kept me tethered to my friends and connected to the world. 

My first video was a room makeover born out of my endless boredom during quarantine, and took me nearly a month to film and edit, as I had never edited a video in my life, and had to watch hours of tutorials to figure out the complexities of Filmora10 (the first editing software I ever used). No one knew about my YouTube channel except for my family and closest friends, but there was a small part of me who dreamed about what it would be like to find success as a content creator. 

Surprisingly, my channel began to slowly grow. Even though I wasn’t making a single cent from my videos, I continued to passionately work on my craft every day, finding my voice and becoming more confident with each video I put out, a familiar pattern from my days as a UNICEF club member. However, most days were very unglamorous (unlike what an influencer's life might appear to be). I spent late nights editing alone in my room, scrutinizing myself for hours, oftentimes overwhelmed with trying to balance everything required of me (and I still do).  

It all came full circle when, in spring 2023, I became a UNICEF USA community engagement intern. This wouldn't have been possible had it not been for my combined experience as both a former UNICEF USA club member and a content creator. I used my content creation skills to help UNICEF USA engage with Gen Z and had the opportunity to share my experience on social media as well. Six years after joining a UNICEF club and advocating to end child marriage and raising funds for children in emergencies, I found myself advocating for UNICEF's mission once again — except this time to a national audience on social media instead of a group of high school students. The similarities between being a UNICEF club member and a content creator may not be immediately apparent, but they exist. Where else do you get the chance to share your passions with like-minded people and get a platform to speak out on what's important to you?

YouTube and social media have given me opportunities I could’ve never imagined and helped fulfill long-held dreams of mine. I found my voice first through UNICEF, and then once again through YouTube. Both made me realize just how important it is for youth to see we do have a voice, and that we should use that voice to express ourselves, our thoughts and opinions, and to take up space — even if it might feel scary to do so. 

Whatever you’re waiting for, now’s the time to do it. Advocate for a cause you’re passionate about. Join a club that interests you, even if you don’t know anyone else in it. UNICEF taught me first that I have a seat at the table, and you do, too. Take that step outside of your comfort zone — whether that’s starting your own UNICEF club, applying for that internship or finally posting a video on YouTube. Know that it’s never too late to take another step towards your goals. You never know where it might take you.  

Want to take action for children and make your voice heard? Start a UNICEF Club!