By Alleigh Keyes ’16

After watching edits on Vine, an online social media platform where people share six-second videos, freshman Liam Walsh decided to experiment with editing and posting Vines. Once he thought of ideas and worked on videos using iMovie, Walsh began his journey in early November of 2014. Using the skills he learned from filming family videos and editing them through the app Splice, Walsh was prepared to take on Vine.

On Vine, some teens may post videos of themselves goofing off with friends. Others might fill up their profiles with an endless supply of singing or dancing. Instead of uploading clichéd content, Walsh takes Vines and changes them up by adding clips, audio or effects to entertain viewers. As a result of his creativity, Walsh now boasts 163k followers and has achieved a verified status, which indicates the authenticity of his identity.

As a young social media mogul, honors student and Class of 2019 SGA Vice President, Walsh is certainly busy. When he is not hitting the books, he can be found preparing ideas for Vine, making edits, or playing sports including soccer and basketball.

“Vine is really important, but school is a priority. If I need to focus on my schoolwork, I postpone my Vine schedule,” Walsh said.

Although having a prominent social media presence can be demanding at times, Walsh keeps himself grounded by surrounding himself with supportive family and friends. His sisters Nicole and Delaney give him advice on when to post videos. Walsh’s close friend, freshman Zachary Weisenthal, is a web designer who created Walsh’s website, zachswebdesigns.com/liamwalsh.

“[Walsh’s] Vines are hilarious! I laugh at every single one he shows me,” freshman Savannah Showman exclaimed.

With the future in mind, Walsh plans to attend VidCon 2016, a web convention next summer and meet other prominent Viners. As he is approaching a tipping-point, he will eventually expand to YouTube in order to reach more viewers. His creative skill set will come in handy as he plans on majoring in engineering.

“It’s always been my dream to entertain others and make them happy. Video editing and comedy has always interested me, and I seek a career in that field. I’ve always had a creative drive to inspire and make new things, and this is my way of doing so. It’s a really fun opportunity that I have and hearing that I made someone’s day is the highlight of it all,” said Walsh.

Dedicated to his budding stardom in the Vine world, Walsh has no intentions of stopping. To him, Vining is more than merely posting short videos online; Walsh aspires to inspire others to pursue their passions.