Members of the Mizzou Tour Team are often the first face prospective students see and associate with MU. Tour guides are responsible for conducting campus tours, leading groups through notable locations as they share their personal experiences at MU. During these tour sessions, guides are tasked with persuading groups that MU is worth four years of time and money. According to an MU press release, Tour Team led more than 27,000 people across 750 tours last year.
Senior tour guide Annabel Carter spoke on her experiences with the team. “When you think about it, you’re selling a $100,000 deal,” Carter said.
Nearly every tour is preceded by a 45-minute informational presentation conducted by Visitor Relations in the Reynolds Alumni Center. This session covers many of the questions incoming college freshmen have — admission requirements, financial aid and cost, scholarships, housing, dining and MU traditions. Groups of prospective students and their families then depart from the alumni center in waves to embark on the 75-minute tour of campus.
Throughout the 75-minute tour, guides show MU landmarks such as Jesse Hall, the Columns on Francis Quadrangle, MizzouRec, Memorial Union and the MU Student Center. They also cover and show important locations such as residence halls, as well as a classroom, if time permits.
The team utilizes three different tour routes, largely to ensure that ongoing tours don’t run into each other at any given time. Each route has its own appropriately-titled nickname. “Take Me Home,” for example, departs from the alumni center, then moves through Truman Central, into MizzouRec, through the MU Student Center and ends at the Quad. The special route “home” is a personal favorite of Carter’s.
“You’re ending in the columns at home,” Carter said.
Director of Visitor Relations LeAnn Stroupe retains Tour Team’s diverse set of committed guides through an extensive application process.
“Students come from literally every aspect of campus, and one of my goals as director is to ensure the diversity within Tour Team as broadly as I can,” Stroupe said.
The process includes attending an info session, a written application, a personal element showcasing personality, a group interview session with current tour guides and a final individual interview with a panel of coordinators.
“When the tour guide is initially hired, they typically go through five to six weeks of training and are paired with a veteran tour guide to prepare for their evaluation to give tours on their own,” Stroupe said.
Members of Tour Team are given opportunities to bond with their fellow guides through many activities. Some of these activities include hiking groups, a field day against other student organizations, such as Summer Welcome, and Tour Team Prom.
Tour Team’s primary goal, recruiting future tigers, remains a priority for the team as MU expands its reach to move MizzouForward, “a comprehensive strategy with the goal of enhancing research and education missions,” as it was described in a news release.
“I’ve never had a job that has so much at stake,” Carter said. “It really is one of the biggest decisions of your life. You have the chance to change people’s lives.”
Edited by Zoe Homan | zhoman@themaneater.comCopy edited by Emily Rutledge | erutledge@themaneater.com