How one idea changed Syracuse’s creative community

As Rhylee Hudson arrived back at Syracuse University for her senior year, she had plenty on her to-do list. Near the top was Friends4Lease, a project Hudson was developing with a couple of classmates.

To make Friends4Lease a reality, Hudson, a television, radio and film major, knew she would need to find fellow SU students to be PAs, costume designers, hair stylists, and script supervisors — she just needed a way to connect with them.

That’s when she learned about Click21, a newly launched website designed to match SU creators like Hudson with artistic talent.

“We want students in the project, and Click21 is where the creatives seem to be,” Hudson said. 

The solution to Hudson’s film project is the invention of political science senior Carter Moreland, who wanted to connect artists across SU’s campus. 

Moreland saw that many creative projects at SU are produced by an artist’s close-knit circle. The right person for a project could be in the classroom next door, and the artist may never meet them. 

“I was trying to solve a problem for myself. I was in my dorm room creating a song, and I said, ‘Hey, I really want someone to work on this song for me,’” Moreland said. “There [are] tons of students probably on campus who have had the same problem across the arts. We need to solve the problem of not being able to find other creatives on campus.”

Initially, Moreland started Click21 as a newsletter, emailing close to 200 other creatives on campus. He only received two initial responses to his email, but he knew his idea had potential.

Taking inspiration directly from the apps many use every day — Instagram, Facebook, Uber and Snapchat — Moreland and his team purposefully researched what formats appealed to college students. He created an interface where subscribers can post, scroll, browse and connect with other creatives all at the click of a button. 

Moreland said the goal was simply to make it as engaging to Gen Z as possible – a project made by students, for students. 

“The hardest hurdle is building enough trust across a campus of 20,000 students for people to start signing on to use…That’s the hardest hurdle: building the trust within your critical mass,” Moreland said. 

Broadcast and digital journalism senior Sunny Suaya tried the platform out as she was looking for a videographer for a personal project, similar to the needs of Moreland when he first started the platform. 

Suaya said her busy schedule means she can’t do everything herself. 

“I’m always looking for people to help out with projects of mine,” Suaya said. “As someone who holds many leadership positions, having a platform that gives me access to connect with talent on campus is super helpful.” 

The site, which launched in late August, has secured more than 200 sign-ups, with half creating direct accounts and the other half still in the process. 

Moreland said the site is spreading across campus, and there’s no end in sight. 

“If you have ever needed another creative person on campus who’s outside your major, outside your dorm room, whatever it may be, you should be on here,” Moreland said. “If you have ever needed creative talent, you should be on here.” 

Editor’s Note: Sunny Suaya is a contributing writer and digital producer for The NewsHouse. She did not influence the editorial content in this story.