North San Antonio News

Today, UTSA made its debut on the Amazon Prime Video series, “The College Tour.” 

Created by award-winning producers and hosted by Emmy-nominated storyteller Alex Boylan, each episode of “The College Tour” highlights one university through the stories of its students. UTSA is one of more than 80 universities and colleges that have been featured to date.

“For high school students trying to decide where they want to attend college, traveling to visit different campuses can be expensive and time-consuming, which may hinder students from considering schools that are farther away from home,” said Lynn Barnes Jr., UTSA senior vice provost for strategic enrollment. “By partnering with ‘The College Tour,’ we now can show prospective students and high school counselors across the nation and the world what life-changing opportunities are available here at UTSA, through the eyes of Roadrunner students who are seizing those experiences to create their bold futures.”

“We now can show prospective students and high school counselors across the nation and the world what life-changing opportunities are available here at UTSA.”

The episode is split into 20 segments—one for each featured student —allowing Roadrunners from a variety of majors and backgrounds to illustrate life at UTSA from their unique viewpoint. Each segment also focuses on a different aspect of the UTSA experience, ranging from campus life and student activities to career-engaged learning and research excellence.

The students starring in the episode were selected through a video audition process, and filming took place in September 2022 at various locations across the Main, Southwest and Downtown campuses. 

The following Roadrunners comprise the student cast:

• Chloe Barnes (senior, geography and environmental sustainability)
• Joshua Barron (senior, electrical engineering)
• Miranda Boggan (junior, psychology)
• Angelica Cordero (sophomore, psychology)
• Canaan Eggers (sophomore, computer science)
• Juan Ramirez Garcia (senior, music studies)
• Gisele George (graduate, physics)
• Jesus Guillen Jr. (senior, electrical and computer engineering)
• Farah Hamed (senior, finance and management)
• Maren Kitogo (senior, kinesiology)
• Erica McFarland (senior, public health)
• Esteban Mejia (senior, mechanical engineering)
• Jenelle Millison (senior, computer science)
• Madeline Morales (senior, environmental science)
• Kaitlyn Page (senior, marketing)
• Emily Perez (junior, microbiology and immunology)
• Daniel Phillips (junior, cyber security)
• Amanda Salas (senior, multidisciplinary studies)
• Maria Wilhelm (doctoral student, educational leadership)
• Rashad Wisdom (senior, cyber security)

UTSA leaders and members of the student cast, along with their friends and families, enjoyed an on-campus screening last month. Swapping out the typical red carpet, guests walked the UTSA orange carpet, enjoyed music and refreshments, and watched the one-hour episode in the Student Union Retama Auditorium at the UTSA Main Campus. A panel of cast members also screened the episode for prospective students and their families at UTSA Day last month.

“Being a part of ‘The College Tour’ was an amazing experience for our UTSA team of students, staff and faculty who worked in front of and behind the camera to produce the show, and we are excited that soon everyone will have the chance to see the final product,” said Barnes.

Along with the main episode, Boylan also spent time with UTSA President Taylor Eighmy and Director of Freshmen Recruitment Ana K. Rodriguez as part of the Coffee With the President and Ask Admissions miniseries. In these brief episodes, Boylan gets additional insight from Eighmy and Rodriguez about UTSA’s admissions process, financial aid, life in San Antonio and other topics relevant to prospective Roadrunners.

“San Antonio is such a special place. It’s the seventh-largest city in the US, but the city is so welcoming, it really feels like a family,” said Boylan. “The same thing is true for UTSA: from the moment our crew stepped foot on campus, we felt like honorary Roadrunners.”

EXPLORE FURTHER

⇒ Watch the episode now on Future Roadrunner.

⇒ Learn more about The College Tour.

“UTSA also is one of fewer than two dozen universities that are designated both as a Hispanic-serving institution and a Tier One research university, and it was evident from our time on campus that the university is really leveraging that distinction, as well as its many partners across San Antonio and Texas, to create one-of-a-kind opportunities for its students. We're so excited about sharing the UTSA story with the world.”

“The College Tour” will be available on Apple TV and other streaming platforms, in addition to Amazon Prime Video.

— Rebecca Luther

Original source can be found here.