Penn State international student finds viral fame through posts depicting life in State College

Navigating the ups and downs of college is no easy task, especially when you’re an international student in an unfamiliar area. But for Shamak Agarwal, where others may have found stress, he found success — in a somewhat unusual way.

Agarwal, a Penn State sophomore from Surat, India, studying computer science, started his Instagram page “shamakinusa” early last month. On his page, he offers viewers an honest account of his daily life as an international student in Happy Valley, which includes all of his wins, struggles and everything in between.

Just four days and nine posts after first starting his account, Agarwal published a “day in the life” video that racked up nearly 94,000 likes, well over a million views, 960 comments and around 60,000 shares, immediately launching him into Penn State stardom.

Since then, Agarwal’s videos— which, to him, differ from a lot of other content made by creators at Penn State — have earned him more than 27,000 Instagram followers, millions more views and the status of Penn State’s newest verified Instagram content creator.

“I noticed that a lot about Penn State on social media is always football or sports-related — I love football, but I feel like people also want to see what a day in the life at Penn State looks like in general, and I really wanted to show that from my point of view,” Agarwal said. “I saw a other creators like Ethan Ethridge and Megan Million do day-in-the-life posts, so I figured I would try them out too, and as you can see, people really seem to like them. I didn’t expect it at all.”

While his account’s first few videos were done in Hindi, his native language, his roommates encouraged him to begin making them in English to reach a broader audience.

Some of the topics Agarwal has covered in his videos include his escapades during a snowstorm, food reviews of restaurants in downtown State College, his personal Thon experience and various other topics, such as what he likes to cook and how he works out.

When he’s not making videos, Agarwal often spending hours a day studying. He also works at the Findlay Commons’ help desk, which he has documented in his videos.

Agarwal’s content has brought him a number of unique opportunities, including a link-up with famous Indian Youtuber Hobby Explorer Tamil, a special date to a sorority’s formal and invitations to attend several State Patty’s Day parties, despite not drinking alcohol. His content even landed him a collaboration with Penn State, with the university publishing a joint Instagram post with Agarwal earlier this month.

One the most memorable experiences Agarwal’s content has brought him though was a meet-up with some of Penn State’s most impressive wrestlers.

Two-time all-American Beau Bartlett and four-time national champion Carter Starocci met with Argawal before Penn State wrestling’s senior night dual meet against American, where they won 50-3.

“(Bartlett and Starocci) are some of the nicest guys I have gotten to meet here so far,” Agarwal said. “Whenever you meet big athletes like that, you initially think that they may be rude or something, but that is not the case — they were very polite and respectful, and Carter even said that he knew of me and my content before we met, which meant a lot.”

Now being recognized seemingly wherever he goes for his content, Agarwal has had to deal with the pressures of on- and off-campus fame. He said so far it’s been an enjoyable experience that’s brought him out of his shell.

Agarwal’s professors have began to recognize him, with one telling Agarwal that it felt like they were teaching a celebrity. That professor now follows him.

Although he’s enjoying his unforeseen fame now, this isn’t the first time that Agarwal has been in the spotlight. In India, he was a renowned young artist, setting several records and winning multiple honors.

In 2021, Agarwal won the “Bal Ratna” award, an award that recognizes Indians under the age of 18 for exceptional achievement across a number of fields, including fine arts. Before that, he set a world record for creating a graphite sketch in under 30 minutes — a record that still stands in many record books, such as the “World Book of Records.”

For his achievements, Agarwal was given an honorary doctorate degree in fine arts from the Alfus State Government University in Delhi. Agarwal also helped run a large technology distribution company in Surat with his father, which was the main reason why he wanted to study computer science at Penn State.

Now that he’s making waves for more than just his art, Agarwal hopes that his content will serve as an inspiration to other Indian and international students at not only Penn State, but across the country.

“I get comments under my posts from other Indian and international students saying that my videos are very relatable, and it makes me very, very happy to see that,” Agarwal said. “I know like myself, many international students can be shy, so hopefully my videos encourage them to get out of their shells a bit and try new things. ... If my content has impacted just one person in that way, I am content.”

This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 6:33 AM.