By Lee Chaney, Staff Writer
Wandering around Hardin Valley campus with a camera and an exquisite fit, local fashion enthusiast John Medina can be found capturing photos of Pellissippi State Community College’s best dressed. Their goal is simple – to spread a little bit of happiness.
Medina is an interior design student who runs the psccoutfits Instagram page, documenting unique and interesting outfits around Pellissippi State. Dating back to August of 2024, the page has displayed a variety of outfit styles; from cosplays to punk to street fashion, anyone has a chance to make it onto Medina’s best outfits of the week showcase.
Many students on campus have expressed excitement on learning they have been posted to the page. When told this in a recent interview, Medina replied:
“That’s what I do it for, man. When I was in high school, I got to do a little photography class and for my final portfolio a bunch of people that are in the photos were like, ‘those are super sick,’ and they also had that little confidence boost and I was like, ‘this is an amazing feeling.’ That’s really what I do it for.”
The idea for the psccoutfits page came from several different places; hailing from Farragut High School, Medina was exposed to a similar Instagram page a fellow student maintained around the school, and they were then inspired to create their own series of photos of people wearing the same shirt.
They continued, “I like to get inspiration because I like to draw certain aspects of people’s outfits and kind of make an amalgamation of all that, and put my own little spin on it. I like outfits. That’s the bottom line.”
It was evident that Medina approaches the world with a unique sense of curiosity, drawing inspiration from everything they see. I was curious how they connect their passions for interior design with photography and fashion, to which they replied,
“All these kind of outfits in and of themselves are like art pieces, in my opinion… It kind of tells you about the person. Like, you can dig deep into someone’s outfit and gain little things from it. I feel like that’s not too different from, like, an interior, you know?”
When asked why photography is important to them, Medina stated, “Getting to document parts of my life that I hold dear is really cool. It kind of gives [bookmarks] of your life.”
Medina hopes to take the skills they’ve gained through running their Instagram page to improve on their interior design and photography skills, planning to spend the summer taking more photos and looking for internships in their related field. Medina is excited to continue growing their talents this summer, turning passion into purpose through their exploration in fashion, design and photography.
