Happy Valley may be filled with over 40,000 college students from August to May, but State College is also home to about 40,000 additional community members and families year-round. Not everyone living in the valley is a college student — and that’s where Happy Valley Hannah comes in.

Hannah Morris is a State College mom, raising her 6- and 4-year-old kids with her husband in central Pennsylvania. She started her Instagram account, @HappyValleyHannah, in October 2023 after a friend gave her the idea to start posting. She was already doing so much around town, so why not share with others?

Just under a year later, Morris now has over 9,000 followers and is the Happy Valley mom friend for all.

Morris wasn’t a Penn Stater but instead moved to State College after college for a job. She attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York before stopping at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania for her bachelor’s in English and her master’s in film studies from Tiffin University.

Target hired Morris to help open its store downtown, and she and her husband moved to Happy Valley, where they’ve lived for the past eight years. Even though Morris wouldn’t have thought of being an influencer, it all went back to her love of storytelling and performing.

“I was a musical theater kid growing up,” Morris said. “I wanted to be a singer and an actress. Obviously, I didn’t go that route. But I guess creating this page has helped me still perform in a way. It’s my creative outlet, and it combines fashion, management, film studies, and English.”

Morris began by simply posting what she was already doing with her family, quickly gaining followers as she became the first real “mom influencer” in State College. She posts photos and reels about everything Happy Valley: the people, activities, downtown State College shopping, and anything special going on.

About six months into posting, Morris amassed 3,000 followers and hit a turning point. While she’s still learning as she goes, it became easier to build her community, and she started getting invited to events without being the one to reach out.

One of Morris’ most popular posts is when she highlights her top picks for events happening each week in Happy Valley — something she started around New Year’s. While her main followers are Happy Valley moms, the weekly posts have garnered attention among students and expanded her audience.

“It’s been great because it’s really put me into the community to see firsthand all of the amazing things that are going on,” Morris said. “My mission is to connect all of the wonderful people and places and things in our community and put that out into the world in a positive way.”

One of Morris’ recent projects has been helping promote the newly renovated Nittany Lion Inn. Morris reached out to the Inn, introduced herself, explained her audience, and was invited to stay for its soft opening. A reel she posted was one of her most successful ones yet, garnering 271,000 views and over 10,000 likes.

Some of Morris’ success can be attributed to the Content Creator Accelerator Program she attended through the Happy Valley Launchbox. It was the first-ever program at the space, and Morris attended twice a week to take a deep dive into growing accounts and learn how to monetize her content. She made a business plan there to sustain herself that she’s still implementing today.

In the past year, Morris said she’s met so many people and found so much love and support in the community. While posting is fun, it’s almost all-consuming through attending events, editing, filming, answering DMs, and more. She didn’t realize how much work it would be when she started. But what a great journey it has been so far, she said.

At the end of the day, it comes back to Morris’ passion for storytelling and sharing the narrative of not only Happy Valley but the people who actually make it happy.

“When I was in school in New York, I was walking through Central Park and there was a psychic there doing readings. And she was like, ‘Are you a writer? You’re going to be an inspiration to women and children. Everyone in the country is going to know you by your first name.’ I think she may have meant in the county because I am a long way from that. But all these years later I’m like, maybe she was onto something,” Morris said.

Happy Valley Hannah’s content may not be written words, but Morris is always searching for new stories to tell. She’s met Saquon Barkley, James Franklin, and plenty more athletes, interviewing each and asking what Happy Valley means to them. However, the best thing she’s gotten besides community buy-in was spending time at Penn State women’s basketball’s PA Pink Zone game to meet breast cancer survivors.

Alongside her growing Instagram family, Morris is always thinking of new content to share and ways to promote her love for Happy Valley.

She coined the phrase “The Happiest Valley” and is working with a designer to create merchandise and help spread the message. To celebrate the Happy Valley Hannah account’s first birthday, Morris is hosting a party from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 2, at Boal City Brewing. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to bring a non-perishable grocery item to donate to the State College Food Bank.

For anyone who hasn’t visited before, Morris’ top suggestion to do while visiting Happy Valley is to walk around the Arboretum and downtown. And if anyone sees her walking on the street, don’t be afraid to say hi.

“The students really are the reason Happy Valley is so great and fun to live in,” Morris said.