Most fads on the Internet tend to fade out pretty quickly, but the increasingly popular “Humans of New York” page doesn’t seem to be fading anytime soon. For those who haven’t heard of this web-sweeping phenomenon, it’s a project that simply interviews and photographs strangers that has generated some amazing results beside lovely portraits. The endeavor began in the form of a New York Times Best Selling Book, but now “Humans of New York” has spread to Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter with daily updates and millions of people following along according to current page counts. Ever since the project’s creation, many cities, colleges, institutions and other areas have developed their own similar pages, and thanks to sophomore Laura Siekman, DU now has one if its own too: Humans of DU.

When the biology major with a minor in chemistry and photography from Appleton, Wisconsin was asked to craft a project for a photography portfolio class, she knew exactly what to do. “Humans of DU” was soon born, and just like “Humans of New York”, it’s gaining popularity quickly. In just over a month’s time, Siekman’s venture has gone beyond the concern of getting a good grade in her class with the Facebook page reaching nearly 650 likes.

Despite the fact that ‘Humans of DU” is an accurate representation of DU students, Siekman transferred here just this quarter without knowing a soul. The project has allowed her to completely adapt socially, something that isn’t always easy as the new kid in town.

“The first few times were kind of terrifying because I didn’t really know how people would respond or what exactly to say to get people to talk,” said Siekman. “But once you get a hang of it, it’s a lot easier to just go up to them, ask what they’re doing and ask them a question about themselves. Now it’s not so hard.”

Siekman admits she is totally new to this type of project, despite all her success. Never before had she gone up to strangers with such outgoing intentions, yet the response on campus has been positive, which has encouraged her to keep going and learning even once her photography portfolio class has concluded.

“Everyone experiences social anxiety and whatnot, but being able to just go up and talk to people is like a whole different ballgame, and I think it’s helped me be able to talk to people more easily. I literally just transferred here this quarter and I’ve gotten to know a lot of people through this just going up and talking to people.”

On top of being able to chat with students and ask them questions, finding the right students and asking the right questions have been large factors for Siekman with “Humans of DU”. By locating people through diverse methods and asking simple, yet thought-provoking questions, her results have improved with each discussion.

“I’ve gotten recommendations [for interviewees] through the [Facebook] page for people that others think would be interesting to interview, and I set up interviews of my own for people who I know have interesting stories. I also just go up to people randomly and try talking to them, so yeah it’s a really nice mix.”
By asking questions such as, “What is your greatest fear?” and “Have you ever been in love?,” Siekman has dug up some beautiful stories from DU students, inspiring her to expand this audience to faculty and beyond. She has only conducted one interview with a faculty member, but she says it has been her best one to date.
“I would love to get more faculty,” said Seikman. “They’re really interesting, and they have a lot of experiences that kids just don’t have. And it’s all-inclusive for the whole DU community, so I’m trying to get something from every walk of life.”

Siekman is happy with the beginning steps of “Humans of DU” and plans on keeping the page going with more fascinating interviews. If you or someone you know has an interesting story to tell, send the “Humans of DU” Facebook page a message, and also make sure to keep up to date with the Instagram and Tumblr pages.

“The format is how I want it,” said Siekman. “I’ve just got to keep asking people for their stories and it will just going to keep going from there.”