Marquette tour guides are experts on student life at Marquette. They are, after all, one of the first impressions of campus culture prospective students see.
Led by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the student tour guide team represents all seven academic colleges and 22 states across the nation, including students from Panama and Puerto Rico.
Tour guides interact with prospective students and families through leading small, personalized tours of campus, sitting on panels and performing other outreach. In doing so, these students gain necessary interpersonal and career development skills in fun and engaging ways.
Many tour guides have remarked that their experience has benefited them in several fields.
DJ Lenius, a senior in the Opus College of Engineering, says that being a tour guide has allowed him to excel in group settings.
“Tour guides all sit down at the beginning of a shift to determine who is the best fit to take a prospective student on tour,” Lenius says. “Group work is a critical skill in my future career, as working in bridge design requires constant collaboration between the engineers working on each project.”
Being a tour guide also allows students to expand their leadership skills through opportunities such as assisting with hiring new tour guides. Such opportunities can give students an advantage in the internship and job seeking processes.
“The hardest internship in your major to land is the first internship, as you usually have no work experience. Having that experience puts you ahead of the rest,” Jalen Webster, Bus Ad ’23, says.
Because of the nature of Marquette tours, small talk is crucial to keep groups engaged and make them feel special on their tours. Webster said that being a tour guide has made him fearless when initiating conversation with anyone.
“During my summer internship, there were countless times where my small talk has landed me opportunities to impress at work,” Webster says. “I even snagged a few business cards from managing directors and had coffee chats with them about my career goals.”
Apart from gaining valuable skills that will help professionally, tour guides help shape the student body. Many have emphasized how rewarding it is to see prospective students from their tours become Marquette students.
Alana Walkush, a senior in the Diederich College of Communication, says that she recently reconnected with a student from her first tour.
“Fast forward to this past semester, we had a media law class together and it just felt extra rewarding seeing her on campus each week,” Walkush says. “We even helped each other study for exams, and I feel like it was a full-circle moment.”
Marquette tour guides are authentic representations of what it means to be a Marquette student.
“At the end of the day, the prospective families will most likely not remember how many residence halls we have on campus, or what the hours are for the library,” Walkush says. “They’ll remember their tour guide.”
If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a tour guide, please contact Kate Bracciano, Director of Visits and Special Programs, at kate.bracciano@marquette.edu.
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