From Creator Contestant to Brand Partner: Meet Xfinity’s “Best in Class” Valedictorian Marcus Quinn

This summer, Comcast's Xfinity set out to discover the next generation of content creators through "Best in Class," a vertically shot reality competition series created exclusively for Instagram and TikTok. Bringing together a talented group of student creators from different universities across the country, the series challenged contestants to put their creativity, adaptability and storytelling skills to the test through a series of content-driven challenges - all while showcasing the connectivity that powers today's creator economy.

The winning creator was unveiled by Xfinity: Marcus Quinn, a sophomore architecture and design student at the University of Pennsylvania. Throughout the series, Marcus consistently demonstrated the authenticity, versatility and passion needed to stand out, ultimately earning the title of Xfinity's first-ever "Best in Class" valedictorian and winner. As the winner, Marcus secured a six-figure brand partnership with Xfinity, opening the door to new opportunities as he continues to grow his career as a content creator.

Below, Marcus reflects on his experience filming "Best in Class" and what's ahead as a new content creator for Xfinity.

Q: What made you say yes to joining "Best in Class"?

A: When I was first contacted, my initial instinct was, 'this can't be real.' With so many millions of creators out there, a reality in which I was even being considered for a project that comes from the same team behind shows like "Love Island USA" felt too big to be true. But once I started to learn more about what it was and the opportunity at the end of it, the decision made itself. Opportunities like this don't come around twice.

Q: What was it like collaborating with creators from different backgrounds? What did you learn from them?

A: Learning to work as a duo during the challenges was much harder than I expected. Everyone has their own gut instinct about what makes a video work, and merging those in real-time took a lot of compromise and quick thinking. But most of what I took away actually happened off-camera. I'm still fairly new to content creation, and most of my fellow contestants had real, lived experience with editing, brand work, building an audience, and so on. Prior to the series, I'd never had anyone in my corner who could provide feedback on my videos and tell me what was or wasn't working. So having that kind of feedback, even informally, was just as valuable to me as the challenges.

Q: What challenged you most during the competition, or pushed you outside your comfort zone?

A: Almost everything about the series was outside my comfort zone, I mean, there is no version of being surrounded by producers and cameras that makes me feel completely at ease, for example. But the moment that tested me most was the "Get Ready With Me" video I filmed with Sarah. It was a genre of video I'd never attempted, and halfway through, mid-makeup, I caught myself losing focus and thinking about what the people I know might think when they watch this back. I felt so out of my comfort zone. What changed things was realizing that it just wasn't that serious, and remembering that I was competing for a life changing opportunity. There really wasn't any room to be so concerned about blue lipstick and fluffy jackets. I think this was such a pivotal moment for myself that taught me to stay grounded through the challenges, despite how I felt in the moment.

Q: As a creator, how important is reliable WiFi to your work, and how did it play a role in the competition?

A: Reliable and fast WiFi is so easy to take for granted. A faster connection may only save you a few seconds or minutes at a time in theory, but that adds up quickly when you're constantly uploading videos or downloading large files. It mattered the most during the competition, since all but one challenge was timed. Moving footage from phone to computer, pulling music, uploading - all of it relied on how fast our connection was.

Q: What was it like stepping on set and being part of a professional production of that scale for the first time?

A: Genuinely terrifying! It really wasn't until the final day of shooting that I began to feel a little more comfortable in front of so many cameras. That said, I feel so lucky that I was able to experience how a production like this comes together and seeing how much the crew coordinates behind the scenes was so captivating.

Q: What was going through your mind when you found out you'd won the competition and earned a six-figure brand partnership with Xfinity?

A: I still don't think I've fully processed it, if I'm being honest. The second my name was called, my mind immediately went back to the beginning of this summer. I was thinking about how I didn't have an internship, thinking about how I could make the summer worthwhile. I could not reconcile that memory with what was happening right in front of me.

Q: What opportunities do you hope this partnership with Xfinity will unlock for you as a creator?

A: While I came in as a design focused creator since most of my recent content leans toward interior design and college dorm setups my posting history has been inconsistent in both genre and frequency. My hope is that working with Xfinity will give me the structure to figure out exactly what kind of creator I want to become, as well as the support and resources to help grow an audience while I do it.

Q: For aspiring creators watching your journey, what's one piece of advice you'd give someone who's just starting out and wants to turn their passion into something bigger?

A: I'm still a newer creator myself, but what's constantly pushed me forward as a creator is only posting what my whole heart is actually into. I have to love the whole process of making something, start to finish, to feel good about putting it out to everyone. The moment that creating starts to feel like a chore is the moment the creativity is lost, too. So my advice, really, is to just protect that feeling in any way you can.