While many know Ms. Pan as a wonderful math teacher at the Academies, she leads a double life as a food content creator as well. Amassing over 24k followers on Instagram, she inspires many with her ability to balance being a teacher and an influencer. 

She started out by sending pictures of her food to her friends so often that it was considered her “thing.” In her senior year of college, she bought a Fuji camera, and her friends recommended her to showcase her recipes with it. During that time, she was really into soondooboo (more commonly spelled with “u” instead of “oo”), and that’s what inspired the name of her Instagram account: @foodooboos. Her first photo was posted on December 31st, 2018, when she posted an aesthetic picture of shakshuka in a Seattle cafe called @Eltanabagels. 

“It wasn’t until I joined the @dmvfoodiecrew and had the opportunity to meet more foodies and content creators did I realize how cool of a community the foodie community was. Things got more business-like when I received my first collaboration opportunity with a business and then more started reaching out from that point on,” she said, describing the pivoting moment in her content creation career.

Her favorite part about food creation is the feedback, both positive and constructive. She also feels rewarded by the connections she’s able to make through both her food and photography account. She says this includes “long term friendships from people all over the world and also professional connections who provide opportunities that [she] never dreamed of having.” 

“It’s really cool how the more work I put into the pages the more opportunities are reaching out to me as opposed to me having to seek my own opportunities,” said Ms. Pan. 

Another aspect of food content creation that she loves is her impact on helping small businesses grow. Businesses usually reach out to her saying they’ve gained 200 followers in a week and are still gaining, or gained over 100 customers since she’s posted about them. “It’s always nice receiving these kinds of messages because it’s a more tangible way of knowing how much of an impact my page has had.”

She’s also had the opportunity to work with big corporations such as Dunkin’ Donuts, &pizza, PLNT Burger, Mon Ami Gabi, and Pizza Hut, and even got to meet celebrity chef Peter Chang at a private tasting event. 

Ms. Pan is amazing at balancing both teaching and content creation. It helps to have good time management and prioritization. The experiences she gains from both aspects help “sculpt [her] character and personality.” She also loves to share her experiences with her students and being able to build a relationship that’s not solely based on math. Some of her students were also inspired to create their own food instagrams because of her. 

Her favorite part about ACL is the people and how at AOS we promote inquiry-based learning as it “allows students to be able to learn to be better thinkers and problem solvers so that when college comes around, you’re more self-sufficient!” 

To those who are looking to get tips in content creation, Ms. Pan believes that ensuring your content is “high-quality and eye-catching,” staying on trend and adding uniqueness will help you grow. With her content, she often “features special menu items that you think your audience will be “wow’d” by rather than posting a “generic plate of fries.” It also helps to post at times you find the audience engaging the most. Finally, her number one tip is to engage with other accounts. While it is time consuming to like and comment on other creatives’ accounts, she believes that it is worth this time in order to gain a greater presence in the online community. 

“It’s also quite fulfilling because you get to see what others are creating and gain inspiration! When you show interest in other peoples’ work they will show interest in yours,” advises Ms. Pan.

As Ms. Pan continues to lead a double life as a teacher and a content creator, she’s able to inspire others, make meaningful connections, and leave a positive impact on the foodie community and students alike.

You can find her food instagram @foodooboos.

 

written by Sarasi Rout

edited by Saanvi Gutta