Every week, students who are on the University of Northern Iowa Snapchat stories see a specific person: Richard Nissen. Dubbed the “Go Panthers guy.” Nissen shares a photo at least once a week with the caption “Go Panthers.” Nissens’ photos are typically featured with uplifting captions that make these posts special to many UNI students.
Nissen, a third-year student at UNI, is heavily involved with TheatreUNI, even performing in “The Tempest” this past weekend. Nissen studies theater performance, theater for community and youth and creative writing. Nissen is active in the community, on and off campus.
The story behind “Go Panthers” is a chapter all students could relate to. College is not easy, it’s a complete uprooting of what you’ve always known. Nissen says, “I went from being in a big group of friends who all cared, supported each other, to being a small fish in the big pond, and it was really difficult.”
“Go Panthers” had not gained popularity until last year, after Nissen was fully ingrained into UNI culture. This did not happen for Nissen immediately, as he can recall feelings of loneliness his first year of school. “I remember freshman year when class was done, I would go back to my dorm,” said Nissen.
In an act of bravery, Nissen made a choice. He decided he wanted to take advantage of his years in school, rather than hide away. “I was meeting new people, making new friends, and that gave me confidence to post on 2026 Snapchat story,” Nissen said.
In an effort to disperse his own positive feelings among his peers, Nissen decided to start posting on the UNI 2026 Snapchat story. The posts started with photos Nissen took around campus, or around Cedar Falls. “So out of boredom, or a desire to make sure newcomers feel more welcome to the campus, I started photography. But, I captioned the photos with Go Panthers because I thought it had a nice ring to it.”
As Nissen saw the impact of his posts he decided to be more active on snapchat. The more he posted, the faster he had run out of content. “One day I ran out of interesting photos, so I just took a selfie, and people seemed to be really into it, and so I just kept doing it,” Nissen said.
For weeks, students had looked and waited for their “Go Panthers” post. Like any other college student, Nissen had a rather busy week, and was unable to share any “Go Panthers” content. An anonymous user on the app Yik Yak, wrote “How am I supposed to study for my test when there hasn’t been a ‘Go Panthers’ post in three days?”
In response to that, Nissen said “I think that’s when I realized it was becoming something people were genuinely invested in.”
In a way, this was a culture shock for Nissen. He now had this newfound fame, which was created through Snapchat. “I’m gonna say it felt weird at first, but frankly, it still feels weird when people walk up to me and they’ll say things like, dude, you’re a celebrity,” said Nissen.
There’s something to be said about giving the right person an appropriate platform. Nissen works to spread happiness among students, which is achieved in the simplest ways. Nissen exclaimed “I feel very honored, very flattered, shocked and also very glad that so many folks are inspired by it.”
From an ordinary college career to a campus icon, Nissen has made his mark on UNI. There’s plenty to learn from him; Nissen is unbiased and is kind to all. While we’ve all been told that getting out there is the most important thing to do, it’s necessary for students to be reminded. Nissen said “I think that the key to being happy in college is to talk to people you don’t know, it’s when you really begin making those connections.”
