UW-River Falls student Giselle Nunez, from Cottage Grove, Minn., is interviewed on campus as part of “The College Tour” television series. Ten UWRF students interviewed for the show will be part of the program that will be aired on Amazon Prime and other broadcast outlets on March 22. Pat Deninger/UWRF photo

In their own words: UW-River Falls students tell university’s story through ‘The College Tour’

 

National audience will hear about UWRF through television series 

 

Feb. 16, 2023 – Season seven of a popular streaming television series will feature all that makes the University of Wisconsin-River Falls a special institution in western Wisconsin. 

Production has concluded for the UWRF episode to be shown on the show “The College Tour,” a television series streamed on Amazon Prime and Amazon Freevee, as well as other streaming services like Roku, Fire TV and Apple TV. It will be available on the UWRF website at https://www.uwrf.edu/admissions/the-college-tour on March 22.

UWRF will be the first UW System institution to be featured on "The College Tour.”

“The student stories told during ‘The College Tour’ can bring awareness to our distinctive programs and exceptional academic outcomes,” UWRF Chancellor Maria Gallo said. “Viewers can see firsthand why UW-River Falls has been recognized as one of the best universities in the Midwest. It will bring our special Falcon community to a much wider audience.” 

The host and executive producer of the series is Alex Boylan, who at 23 won the CBS series “The Amazing Race,” and spent the last 20 years as an award-winning onscreen personality and producer. He won an Emmy as a producer of “The Steve Harvey Show” and was named one of Ed Tech Magazine’s Top 30 IT Higher Education Influencers to Follow in 2022.

The episode features 10 students discussing a variety of topics they are familiar with, including campus life, academics, housing and dining, sports and student organizations, all intended to give viewers a complete picture of the UWRF experience. 

“We wanted to showcase what sets us apart from other campuses,” said Cathy Leaf, UWRF marketing manager.

One of the participating students, Isaac Roehrig, a junior from Brillion, said he was allowed to write the script he spoke during his segment in “The College Tour” and choose the clothes he wore. That approach lends the program’s UWRF segment a high degree of authenticity, he said.  

“I feel like that is the only way to show the entire world my true UWRF story,” he said.

Roehrig said he appreciated the opportunity to experience all that goes into a production like “The College Tour.” The film crew helped him feel more at ease during the process, he said. 

“Standing in front of several cameras can be quite intimidating, but there were several of the marketing team staff members there to make sure I felt comfortable. The process flew by, but was so much fun to experience,” he said. 

UW-River Falls recently completed a new branding effort, Leaf said, and the insights gleaned from that process helped direct the subject matter included in the show. 

“We also selected stories that align with our core institutional values, such as sustainability, inclusion, and others,” Leaf added. 

Roehrig and other students chosen for the taping wrote their own scripts, Leaf said, and memorized them for the taping. "The College Tour" crew was on campus for a week doing the taping, Leaf said, adding: “The crew was great. I've worked with many in my years in marketing and they were top-notch.” 

Leaf said publicity surrounding the show will bring UWRF to the attention of more prospective students.

“We know that prospective students like to see and hear from students who are living and learning here,” she said. 

Roehrig said he hopes that is the case. 

“I am so eager to share my UWRF story and so thankful that ‘The College Tour’ gave me the platform to do this,” he said.