KENNESAW, Ga. | Sep 28, 2026

When Kennesaw State University engineering student Joel Louise began creating cooking videos this summer, he knew very little about preparing meals or producing social media content. What he did understand was how to analyze a problem, learn from mistakes, and improve a process.

Louise developed those skills through KSU’s First-Year Scholars Program, an early research experience he credits with inspiring his approach to content creation. He has since applied those lessons in the kitchen, teaching himself to cook while building a social media presence that has attracted more than 500,000 views.

“I reverse-engineered everything,” said Louise, who is also a student in the Keeping Sights Upward Journey Honors College. “Every time I cut carrots or onions, I thought of it as adding small parts to a design. I looked at what could be done, what could go wrong and how I could make it better.”

The First-Year Scholars Program gave Louise his first taste of research. In that program, he researched the effects of distracted driving on road safety, analyzing five years of Georgia traffic crash data. The experience taught him how to study data, communicate his findings, and make adjustments based on the results. So, when he began creating cooking videos, he realized he could use many of the same methods to understand his audience.

“I changed the crash data to food content and changed the variables,” Louise said. “It helped me analyze which videos could improve, and what I could do better.”

Inspired by his experience working as a marketing intern for KSU’s Department of Student Leadership, Louise launched his cooking accounts on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. After initially struggling to determine what would resonate with viewers, he created a personal account to test different approaches. His first videos received little attention, but Louise studied the performance data and continued refining his work. He has since produced about 40 videos featuring beginner-friendly recipes, entertaining commentary, and foods influenced by his Indonesian upbringing.

Louise was born in the United States but spent 12 years in Indonesia before returning four years ago as a high school sophomore. He learned English while adjusting to life in the U.S. and later enrolled at Kennesaw State.

Some of his most successful videos combine practical cooking instruction with unexpected details. In one video, Louise counted every piece of pasta in a box—more than 2,000 pieces, before using it to make an Asian-inspired bacon mac and cheese.

He also discovered that viewers responded more favorably when he replaced lengthy explanations with short, rhythmic instructions using mostly nouns and verbs. The distinctive format allows his videos to move quickly, while making recipes easier to follow.

“I learned that you can be different without making people feel disconnected from what you are doing,” he said. “The recipes are really simple. It is how we create and present them that makes the difference.”

The First-Year Scholars Program also taught Louise to accept feedback and recognize errors. During the early months of his project, his faculty mentor regularly pointed out problems in his work. Over time, Louise learned to identify those issues before they were mentioned.

“Recognizing your mistake is one of the first steps to excelling,” he said. “That is how I approached my content creation. The first 10 videos were not very good, but I saw the mistakes and made small changes.”

Louise is applying what he has learned to his marketing internship and hopes to create a system that future interns can build upon. Long term, he is interested in transportation engineering and data analysis, but he also sees possibilities at the intersection of engineering, food and entrepreneurship.

For now, Louise continues to experiment—one recipe, video, and data point at a time.

“I may not have the best product yet, but I give everything I have to make it the best it can be,” he said.

– Story by Christin Senior

Photos by Sophie Schohan

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 51,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university's vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.