SU alum, internet older sister Quincy Whipple stays authentic through it all
Quincy Whipple started using social media in high school as a way to combat her social anxiety. Whipple used VSCO and Instagram as a curated escape from that anxiety. Photograph by Micheal Woolery
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College wasn’t the best four years of Quincy Whipple’s life. Neither was the year she spent postgrad at her lifelong dream job. But, both of those experiences are OK with her — a lesson she communicates candidly to her over 255,500 TikTok followers as of Wednesday evening.
“My dreams are constantly changing and I’m reevaluating what’s possible for me because I feel like every day something new changes,” Quincy said.
Quincy, who graduated from Syracuse University in 2024, describes herself as an internet older sister, mirroring her own relationship with three younger siblings. The Maine native studied advertising at SU and moved across the country to Los Angeles postgrad to work as a copywriter at an advertising agency.
In October, Quincy quit her full-time job to pursue modeling and social media. Quincy’s motivation has always been her creativity, and she didn’t have enough opportunities to express that at her ad agency job.
Quincy said she falls somewhere between a fashion influencer and a lifestyle influencer. Her account’s staples include her multiple outfits throughout the day, running content and her nighttime routine of cooking a healthy meal and sticking to an early bedtime (sometimes before 8 p.m.).
A unifying thread of Quincy’s videos is her advice and wisdom, her younger sister Chloe Whipple said.
“She’d give the same advice to me that she’d give to her followers,” Chloe said. “Which feels really authentic to me because if I see a video of hers, it’s like I’m literally just talking to my sister, I don’t even need to text her to ask her something because I can just get the honest answer.”
Being an older sister is like being the “original influencer,” Quincy said. Seeing her sisters follow her lead is the biggest compliment. Chloe started her own social media page following Quincy’s example. Now, the two live in LA and book modeling jobs together as the Whipple sisters.
Fans sometimes post videos of their own Quincy, Chloe and Macey Whipple inspired outfits with a tag like WWTWSW (what would the Whipple sisters wear). In August, Quincy posted a video about the trend, joking that the same standard goes through her head as she gets dressed.
Quincy also identifies her older sister voice in her willingness to speak out about political topics on her platforms — the older sister is usually the one at the dinner table starting a debate with older relatives, she said.
Quincy Whipple gives older sister advice to her followers. The wisdom comes from her own experience with her two younger sisters. Photograph by Micheal Woolery
Heather McClure, Quincy’s friend from SU and Chloe’s current roommate, said Quincy’s content resonates with her audience, and McClure herself, so well because it isn’t forced.
“None of it is like those New York City influencers who do things just to post them,” McClure said. “Chloe and Quincy very much do things and just record 24/7 and what resonates, resonates.”
Quincy said she sometimes finds it difficult to work with brands or management agencies because she is reluctant to post links on her social media pages. Multiple management agencies have let Quincy go because she’s picky about the brands she’s willing to work with, she said. For her, social media is a “fun job;” she doesn’t want to include things in it that she doesn’t want to do.
Despite how confident Quincy’s voice may be now, that wasn’t always the case. In high school, Quincy struggled with “crippling” social anxiety that often prevented her from attending school. People knew her as the “anxious one” and often assumed she was judgemental for not attending social events, Quincy said.
Social media was Quincy’s curated escape from that anxiety, she said. Starting with posts on VSCO and Instagram, she crafted her ideal persona based on the best parts of herself: the parts that could easily talk to people and wear cool outfits. Social media pushed her out of her shell as she learned to be more like that person.
“I created this person who was colorful and bright and not scared, and then when they actually met me, it made it easier to be that person because they were already expecting me to be that person,” Quincy said.
Quincy’s process of growing, from being reserved and self-conscious to confidently chasing her dreams, makes her the most deserving recipient of her success, Chloe said.
Quincy began posting on TikTok during her freshman year, making outfit videos from the Lawrinson Hall dorms. The top comment on a video said she looked just like Phoebe Bridgers, boosting her to virality.
Quincy recalls the surreal feeling of hitting 8,000 followers on Instagram — nearly the same number as the population of her hometown in Yarmouth, Maine.
The summer after her freshman year, Quincy said she posted just about everything about her life. By the time she got back to school, she had around 20,000 TikTok followers. It was fun to feel like a bit of a celebrity at school, she said, so she kept posting.
“I just had no idea what I was doing,” Quincy said. “A brand like Microsoft would ask me for my rate, and I was like, ‘I don’t know, $100.’ It’s like, no, that’s Microsoft. You can ask for way more.”
Quincy hired a manager her senior year of college.
Though Quincy enjoyed college, she was ready to leave after graduation, she said. Quincy didn’t enjoy drinking, and Syracuse’s party culture was always hard for her to buy into, she said. Since Quincy graduated, she’s only become more herself, Chloe said. The authenticity that has become Quincy’s online trademark also guided her career change.
A few months into her job at the agency, Quincy started to realize it didn’t allow for as much creativity as she had hoped. She didn’t want her boss’ job, she said.
“Sitting at that ad agency, it felt like I was just wasting my time,” Quincy said. “I did like it there, but sitting there and realizing that I was gonna be here for potentially the rest of my life scared me so much more than quitting my job and taking a risk did.”
Quincy said she still felt like social media was her “fun job” — a creative outlet that she didn’t want to feel like work. That’s part of why she pursued modeling instead of being an influencer full time.
Though Quincy had begun venturing into the modeling world while still working in advertising, she reached a crossroads when a modeling shoot conflicted with a work trip back to Syracuse. That situation made the choice feel clear, she said.
“If it keeps coming down to me picking between these two things, I’m gonna choose social media, working for myself, and being this creative every single time rather than going back to Syracuse, New York,” she said.
Quincy said she felt lucky her family was so supportive of the choice. Chloe told her it was about time — she’d been encouraging her sister to model for a long time.
Chloe said Quincy often tells her the only way to accomplish your goals is by just doing things — take the scary step to pursue a dream. When Chloe asked Quincy how to get into running, another common subject of Quincy’s videos, she said all it takes is putting on your running shoes and going.
“I feel like (Quincy and Chloe) have really taught me that anything is possible, which I know sounds so freaking corny, but they also have a mindset of nothing is unattainable,” McClure said.
Though college and postgrad weren’t the best years of her life, neither is Quincy’s debut into modeling. She feels like she’s only just getting started, she said. Quincy truly believes every year will be better than the last.
“I learned so much and I’ve met so many amazing people, and because of that, I know how to make next year even better than that,” she said. “And then next year I’ll learn so much more, and then that’ll help me make the year after that better.”
Disclaimer: Charlotte Price is a member of Syracuse University’s chapter of Delta Gamma. Her experience did not affect the content of this story.

