In high school, Stern junior Gracie Palumbo-Alkire would go about her daily life of rigorous classes and sports practices, and get ready for bed — pausing her nightly routine to make comedic TikTok videos in the bathroom of her childhood home. What was once a stress reliever has earned Palumbo-Alkire, who goes by “PA,” 2.3 million followers on TikTok, over 360,000 followers on Instagram and 100,000 subscribers on YouTube. 

When she’s not studying business, technology and entrepreneurship in classes, PA is an active content creator — she hosts a podcast, has a line of merchandise with references to her viral videos and has attended conferences for content creators hosted at the White House. PA gained recognition on social media with her videos inspired by TikTok trends, plus a touch of her unique sense of humor. 

In an interview with WSN, PA discussed gaining popularity on social media, developing a passion for entrepreneurship and making TikToks with Sen. Elizabeth Warren. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

WSN: How did you begin your journey on social media?

PA: In high school, I was such a perfect student. I was in all the AP classes, taking extra classes and in varsity volleyball — that was my whole life. TikTok was this thing at night that I would do to have fun and make videos. I would just post them all super late at night, wake up and see how they did. It was really just a creative outlet — specifically during my junior year, which was difficult academically and stressful with college applications. It was a way for me to have fun, and the followers were just the nice thing that came with it, making it even more exciting.

About three months after creating her TikTok account, PA had surpassed 100,000 followers. Six months later, she reached 1 million followers before eventually graduating high school with about 1.5 million followers. In January 2022, PA posted her reaction to her Stern acceptance letter — which has amassed 8.5 million views. 

While she does create classic lifestyle content, PA’s most viral videos highlight her “goofy”side, including recurring jokes that she references in her original T-shirts, hats and stickers. She said that she wanted her merchandise, which launched in July, to reflect both the comedic and relatable nature of her identity through everyday clothing and accessories.

WSN: What is it like being a social media influencer and an NYU student? 

PA: I’m in the BTE program, which has a big emphasis on entrepreneurship, and at the same time, I’m starting my podcast and my merch line. While doing that all by myself, I feel like I definitely took the classroom lessons and was able to apply that to the stuff I’m doing for my overall brand. I’m doing the workload of a full-time influencer and a full-time college student, which is hard time-wise. Socially, it’s very interesting, because you’re literally at school and your peers are asking to take photos with you, and it’s like, ‘We’re literally classmates.’ 

PA occasionally shares her NYU experiences with her followers, including a “day in my life” video detailing her classes as a Stern student. She also got the chance to combine her academic interests with content creation last month, while filming TikToks with Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Tina Smith that criticized Project 2025 and Republican tax cuts. In May, PA attended the Trending Up conference at the White House, joining dozens of other content creators from across the country and the Office of Digital Strategy that creates all of the social media content for the current presidential administration.

In November 2023, PA created her podcast, “You Shouldn’t Have Said That,” which she co-hosts with her twin sister Annie, who is also a Stern student. Since then, they have released 19 episodes on all major streaming platforms, including as videos on YouTube. 

WSN: What motivated you to start your podcast?

PA: When you do short-form content for a long time, it’s hard to transition to long-form content, but long-form content is the best way for your followers to get to know you because they can’t really gather much about your personality in 15 seconds. Right now, but also last year, podcasts were really picking up. I enjoy sitting there and holding a mic. All my celebrity lookalikes from the comments are printed out on my wall, so it’s definitely a silly vibe. It’s not trying to be too professional. I have a 6-foot cardboard cut out of myself that stands behind me. It’s just a fun thing to do. 

Going forward, PA plans to continue releasing episodes for her podcast and create more long-form content as she expands her platform. However, she is not sure whether she wants to go into social media full time. 

PA described her interest in entrepreneurship and startups, including her original “Defense Clip,” a claw clip that can hold pepper spray for easy access, which is currently in the manufacturing stage. In the long term, she said that she wants to either own her own businesses, be an actress or a full-time content creator. 

WSN: How do you manage your online and real-life personas? 

PA: I think if you’re high-achieving academically, then people assume you’re boring and you’re lame and all you do is study. Then, when they saw that I was also doing this entire thing outside of school, and it was totally different than the personality that they imagined for me, they were very surprised. And I think that that still happens, even with some of my classes. Literally last week, somebody found my Instagram, and said, ‘I never thought that you would act like this.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, you can’t assume.’ You can be many things at once.

Contact Rory Lustberg at [email protected].