Tour guides fall in love with IU

Students who want to help make high school visitors part of the IU family can answer the University’s Offiice of Admissions’ call for volunteers to join the tour guide team.

“I just fell in love with the tour guides program because I get to meet the coolest people, and it feels awesome to know that your tour guide helps indecisive students to make up their minds,” senior tour guide Denver Hutt said.

Every new tour is another moment to fall in love with IU, Hutt said.

It is always the first experience for visitors coming to IU, and she wants to give them the best first impression possible, she said.

For students who want to join the IU Tour Guides Program, the application deadline is Feb. 16.
The Office of Admission holds certain standards for its tour guides.

There are professional expectations such as not using inappropriate language or discussing alcohol during a tour and making all profiles “private” on all social networking Web sites that contain references to alcohol, recreational drugs or nudity.

“The IU Tour Guides Program is not a typical organization,” said Brandi Miller, assistant director for the Office of Admissions. “It is run by the Office of Admissions and applicants are expected to represent IU with high
professionalism.”

Every semester, an IU tour guide is committed to one assigned weekly tour, two assigned Saturday tours and at least two special event tours in addition to monthly meetings.

The program is demanding, but at the same time it provides multiple chances for involved students to get in touch with thousands of visitors and polish their public relations skills, Miller said.

Although the IU Tour Guides Program is a volunteer activity, it serves as an opportunity for participating students to develop leadership and public speaking skills, Hutt said.

The IU Tour Guides Program is just one of six groups the Office of Admissions runs.
There are other teams such as the chat team, presentation team and multicultural team that provide different opportunities for students to stay involved and help introduce IU in a different way.

The Office of Admissions encourages IU tour guides to share their own experiences during tours.

“We want our tour guides to sell IU by telling their own personal stories,” Miller said.