There’s a Greg for New York City. There’s a Greg for Virginia Tech. Now, there’s a Greg for Penn State.

Inspired by popular TikTok creator gregory.nyc, Juliana Tejada, a sophomore journalism major, created the account penn.state.greg to bring the trend to Happy Valley.

Through cinematic shots of Penn State set to Taylor Swift songs, Tejada’s videos quickly began gaining traction on TikTok, with some reaching thousands of viewers and catching the attention of fellow Penn Staters.

Onward State: What inspired you to start the TikTok account in the first place?

Juliana Tejada: I am from New York, so I would see the videos from the original creator, Greg, and I would be like, “Wow, these are amazing.” I loved the videos, especially because I could recognize places that I’d been to. Then I started seeing on my For You Page that schools like Virginia Tech and NYU had their own “Greg,” so I wanted a Penn State Greg.

OS: Why did you decide to keep your identity anonymous?

JT: Everybody else that I saw who had these accounts went by Greg, so I decided to go by Greg too. I’ll just be a part of the multiverse too.

A few of my friends know that I run the account because I record videos out of their car. I’ll say that I run the account, and they will be like, “Really?” and I’m like, “Who else would it be?”

OS: What made you choose Taylor Swift as the soundtrack for all of your videos?

JT: All of the other accounts I’ve seen also use her music too. The original creator would put her songs behind an aesthetic or moody video, and everybody would respond with, “You’ve done it again.”

I mean, I posted a song by Gracie Abrams because I like that song, and I’ll probably post more videos to other music when I run out of songs from Taylor Swift.

OS: How do you decide which Penn State moments, locations, or views to film for each TikTok?

JT: It just depends on where I am going. I’m never thinking, “I’m going to go to this place, record here, and post it.” I’ll be on my way to class or to the bus stop and find a cute or aesthetic spot.

On my way here [Willard], I recorded a video of Willard because someone commented and asked me to record a spot from here, and Willard’s basically my second home, so I did that right before I got here.

OS: Do you usually find a song first and then find footage to match it, or do you capture a moment and then choose the song after?

JT: I like to scroll through TikTok and just save a bunch of songs that I like, and then I just record the video without audio on my phone. After it’s recorded, TikTok will either suggest a song, or I will choose one of my favorites and pick the one that goes best with the video.

Though, for one of them, I knew I wanted to use the lyric, “I ask the traffic lights if it’ll be all right” from “Death By A Thousand Cuts” by Taylor Swift, so I was waiting at the bus stop and recorded the traffic lights with the song behind it.

OS: What goes into making one of your videos?

JT: Sometimes it’s kind of embarrassing to just stand somewhere and record because I don’t want people on the street to think that I’m some sort of stalker recording them.

So, if there are a lot of people out that day, it takes more time. If there aren’t many people, I’ll re-record it a few times and crop the stuff out of the video that I don’t want. It doesn’t take that long.

OS: Do you have a favorite video you have filmed so far, and if so, why?

JT: I really like the first one that I posted. I recorded it last year before I went home for Thanksgiving break. I like the lighting and the trees, and how the sun is shining through.

I also used my favorite song from my favorite album, “evermore”. I used one of my favorite lines from the song: “I had a feeling so peculiar, this pain wouldn’t be for evermore.” It’s just my favorite video.

OS: Is there a particular Penn State location or moment that you think looks especially cinematic on camera?

JT: I really like downtown or anywhere near Old Main. Old Main is just a really nice building and I like how it looks during sunsets, and I like how downtown looks at night while everyone is there and all of the lights are on. I think the Arboretum would be so good too, especially during a sunset.

OS: What has the reaction been from Penn State students or alumni who recognize the places in your videos?

JT: A lot of graduates say how they miss it and how they remember being at the places I post. Someone commented that she graduated in the spring, so she’s going to have to block me now. Others are like, “I actually can’t do this right now,” or someone said, “I love you, please don’t die,” so there are just a lot of comments reminiscing.

OS: If you could pair one Taylor Swift song with one Penn State moment that you haven’t filmed yet, what would you choose and why?

JT: I really want to make a video to “The Alchemy” by Taylor Swift during the White Out. When she sings, “Shirts off, and your friends lift you up over their heads,” I want to record the players running out, hopefully get a win, the fireworks, and everyone cheering. I really want to make that one.