You know Tina Vo as ‘Live To Eat Food.’ We know her as a two-time Clarkie

Uplifting small businesses ‘fills something in my heart’ … and stomach

Tina Vo ’16, M.S. ’17, has a big appetite for food and for fun, and if you follow her on social media at Live To Eat Food, that’s not news to you. In September, her diary-style missives highlighted trips to The Big E and the Worcester Night Market and meals of burgers and bagels and pizza and pho.

“I feel like I never run out of content because every day I have to eat at least once,” says Vo from a table at Belen’s Clark Brunch, adjacent to the Clark campus. Vo’s following on TikTok and Instagram has ballooned in recent years as she has eaten her way across Worcester County and beyond, posting honest reviews. She’s amassed just about 25,000 followers on Instagram and about 16,000 on TikTok. Vo has always enjoyed dishing on food, but more recently, events and fun things to do have become a popular component of her social media storytelling.

“I’m very grateful that I have an effect on small businesses and helping people get out of their homes to do stuff,” she says while waiting on a spread of blueberry pancakes, pupusas, flatbread, and a side of plantains to reach the table.

Vo was born and raised in Worcester, and is from a family rich with Clark connections. Her two sisters are also Clark grads, and her brother just moved onto campus this fall as a member of the Class of 2030. Plus, her boyfriend Samuel Matteson is the coach of the men’s soccer team — you can find Vo in the crowd cheering on the Cougars at many games.

As a Clark student, Vo was a resident advisor, part of the Connections program, a member of Rapid Response, and competed on the women’s field hockey team. She majored in biology for both her undergraduate degree and her 4+1 Accelerated Master’s degree. While content creation has made Vo a familiar face around Worcester County, it’s not her sole job. She is a doctoral nurse practitioner and the owner of Tinaesthetics by Dr. Vo, which offers aesthetic and wellness treatments. Vo has also been a faculty member at UMass Medical School.

While Vo sampled the menu at Belen’s, ClarkU News caught up with her for a Q&A about content creation and her delicious career journey.

How did you get started making videos?

In our household, the main love language was food. Celebrating something [like] birthdays, there was always a really nice meal with the family, or we would go out to eat. I started snapping pictures of the food. Eventually, people were like, “You’re posting too much food on your personal page. You need to bring that elsewhere.” And I thought, “Not a bad idea.”

I made a food page in 2017, so almost 10 years ago. Instagram Reels really took off a couple years ago, so then I just started making videos. It’s a lot of work: editing, voiceovers, labels, planning. But I’ve developed a system. When the food comes out, video first, and then you put the phone away and you eat. At night I’ll clip it, do my voiceover, and then that’s it.

So, Live to Eat Food started by accident, but then people really loved it and I saw how it impacted small businesses. That fills something in my heart that other things can’t.

How did you find your voice and style as a video storyteller?

When I started making content, I was scrolling a lot and would ask myself, “Why did I skip that video? What did I not like about that video? Why did I like that video?” I started using those insights to create my own content, and you figure out what your audience likes. Sometimes I spice it up and eat in my car.

What does the inside of your fridge look like?

If you open my fridge, there’s nothing in there. I literally eat out for all my meals, and then that’s content. I can’t eat and not film content!

Passion for community is a hallmark Clarkie trait. What drives your passion?

My mom was a small business owner and had a nail salon, so I always have respect for small businesses. I accidentally became a small business owner three years ago when I opened my aesthetics business out of nowhere.

Eating around and talking to people, I’m always like, “Oh my God, you are so cool.” The business owners are so cool, the chefs are so cool, and I want to know their story. Sometimes I post a video and then a business owner tells me, “Tina, you don’t know how much this meant to us. Our volume increased,” or “People are coming from Connecticut to eat this.” I can’t believe my videos do that.

What made you interested in medicine and being a nurse practitioner?

The seed was planted by my dad when I was in the womb that I had to be a doctor. I knew I liked science, and I knew I liked helping people. While I was at Clark, I was a medical scribe, and I was working with a nurse practitioner, a physician assistant, and a doctor, and I realized they all do much of the same things. I liked the style that the nurse practitioner did them more. I just applied to UMass Medical School, where she went, and I got in. It worked out perfectly.

How do you balance your job, your business, and your online presence?

At Clark, I was in like 500 clubs. Toward senior year, I realized I was doing things just to do things. I asked myself, “What are you most passionate about?” And then I started cutting things off my to-do list. That process applies now, too. For example, I just went from full-time primary care to part-time so I could be at my business more. You realize things that can really bring you joy, or that you need to take a break from, and develop a regimen.

Do you have any advice for Clark students?

Just say yes to opportunities, and if you say yes to something and you hate it, at least you know that you don’t like that. Say yes to people. Say yes to events.