Guides pull in students through personalities

While splitting up families into two tour groups, junior Kyle Roach joked that students should stick with their families — but only if they want to.

“Feel free to laugh at my jokes,” Roach said with a smile.

Humor is the name of the game for an IU Tour Guide.

These positions are voluntary and students receive no financial compensation for their services.

While this might be discouraging, guides have other motivations for devoting their time.

“My selfish reason for doing this is it looks great on a resume, and I can better my public speaking skills,” Roach said.

Others enjoy being versed on facts about campus, including senior tour guide Polly Pinelli.

“It’s fun to pull out neat campus facts, like that the Art Museum has no right angles except where the walls meet the floor,” Pinelli said.

A big draw for many guides is the lasting effect they make on prospective students.

“I have had a couple students come up to me and say they had me as a tour guide before, and I was the reason they came to IU,” Roach said. “That’s the best.”

High school senior Elizabeth O’Brien  was inspired to come to IU after Roach’s tour.

“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to IU before today,” O’Brien said. “But I like Kyle a lot. He is really enthusiastic.”

The infamous questions from students and parents, including how to complete a degree in four years, are another part of the tour.

“I always get students asking if it’s true that people have sex on the couches in the Union,” Roach said.

Parents direct most questions, while students watch in horror, Pinelli said.

“This one time a dad asked me whether IU is a land grant university,” Pinelli said. “I don’t even know what a land grant university is. I felt like I was on Indiana
University Jeopardy.”

Wild inquiries aside, marketing IU can become a challenge.

“I always want to give guests a good, accurate representation of IU,” Pinelli said. “I want students to be able to see themselves here.”

But the tours aren’t completely unbiased, guides tend to be passionate about the campus.

“IU is a great place to be, pure and simple,” Roach said. “It has an aura that can’t be replicated. It’s Indiana.”