In-person campus tours return to UW–Madison, the ‘wow’ factor intact

Campus and Visitor Relations (CAVR) tour guides Austin Duellman and Marissa Roberts lead a group of prospective and admitted students and their guests along W. Johnson Street during a tour of the UW–Madison campus on June 4. Photo by: Jeff Miller

Tour guides Sam Erickson and Haley Sisel talk with students and their guests at Alumni Park. In the background is Lake Mendota. Photo by: Jeff Miller

Haley Sisel talks with a group of prospective and admitted students and their guests. Photo by: Jeff Miller

At left, tour guide Sam Erickson talks with parent Randy Rosin and his daughter, Kennedy, as the tour proceeds along West Johnson Street. Photo by: Jeff Miller

Tour guides Austin Duellman and Marissa Roberts talk with visitors during a stop outside the Brogden Psychology Building. Photo by: Jeff Miller

Tour guides Sam Erickson, left, and Haley Sisel talk with students and their guests outside Grainger Hall. Photo by: Jeff Miller

From left to right, tour guide Sam Erickson talks with Ethan Labriel and his mother, Adi Labriel, as the tour crosses East Campus Mall. Photo by: Jeff Miller

Tour guide Austin Duellman leads a group of prospective and admitted students and their guests along East Campus Mall. Photo by: Jeff Miller

Tour guide Haley Sisel leads her group of along East Campus Mall. Photo by: Jeff Miller

On a recent sunny day, high school senior Nick Bordenet stood on the Terrace at Memorial Union and took in his first-ever look at a shimmering Lake Mendota. He immediately pictured himself at one of the colorful tables, textbook in hand.

“Any free time I’d have, I can see myself studying here,” said Bordenet, of Hoffman Estates, Illinois. “It’s amazing. There’s nothing like this in my hometown.”

For prospective students like Bordenet, nothing beats being on a campus to check everything out and to meet some of the students who work, study and live there. After a 14-month, pandemic-induced pause, in-person tours have resumed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, beckoning visitors from across the country and beyond.

The 75-minute tours can have up to 10 guests. Current tour availability can be found here. Prospective students with admissions-related questions can chat with an admissions counselor at Union South before or after their tour from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and select Saturdays.

“We’re so excited to be back,” said Kirstin DeMartino, director of Campus and Visitor Relations. “We know it’s a big deal for our prospective students and their families. We want them to experience campus in-person and get a sense of space and place.”

Although virtual tours were offered this past year (and remain available), parent Randy Rosin said he wouldn’t feel comfortable sending his daughter, Kennedy, to a university without first walking the campus himself.

“I’m concerned about security, as dads are,” said Rosin, of Ogdensburg, Wisconsin, as he took a tour with Kennedy. “I needed to be here. I needed that hands-on experience.”

The 75-minute tours, halted March 12 of last year, returned May 17 of this year. For now, the tours take place predominantly outdoors, although guides can access buildings during weather emergencies. The number of guests is capped at 10. (The previous sweet spot was around 20.) Masks are not required, though physical distancing needs to be maintained. Restrictions could be eased if pandemic-related metrics continue to improve, campus officials say. Current tour availability can be found here.

Prospective students with admissions-related questions can chat with an admissions counselor at Union South before or after their tour from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and select Saturdays. Prospective students and families also can attend a virtual live admissions information session, offered via Zoom several days each week this summer. For full details and to register, check out visitbucky.wisc.edu.

Tour leaders used the pandemic downtime to identify and eliminate accessibility barriers, said Helena Manning, who oversees the tour guide program. The tour route no longer includes steps or hills and is intentionally designed to be wheelchair accessible. This benefits a wide range of visitors in addition to those using wheelchairs, including parents pushing strollers and injured student-athletes on crutches, Manning says.

Forty well-trained guides — all UW–Madison students — rotate as tour leaders. Many worked throughout the pandemic to make the virtual tours interesting and fun, Manning says.

“I can’t say enough about how adaptable and flexible they’ve been,” she says. “Now that we’re back, their energy levels are through the roof.”

Marissa Roberts, a UW–Madison senior, started as a tour guide prior to the pandemic, then gave virtual tours for 14 months. She appreciates being back in person — it’s easier to make connections and to read the room.

“If you make a dad joke on Zoom, you can’t tell if anyone laughed,” she says.

On a recent tour, some visitors knew Madison well, while others had never visited the Midwest. Tyler Salaj, who will be attending UW–Madison this fall, grew up just 45 minutes away in Ixonia, Wisconsin. He figures he’s been to campus at least 100 times, mostly for Badger basketball games.

“I knew where the dorms were, but I hadn’t seen a lot of the rest of the buildings,” he said. “I didn’t know much about where my classes would be. This takes a weight off my chest.”

Ethan Labriel represented the other end of the familiarity spectrum. He’s from Fresh Meadows, New York — 952 miles away — and had never been to Wisconsin. He committed to attending the university this fall sight unseen after being awarded a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to UW–Madison through the Posse program.

He didn’t expect the campus to be so big or the weather so hot.

“I was a little nervous coming here today, but seeing everything has me really excited,” he says. “And the lake — that took my breath away.”

It took his mom’s breath away, too. Adi Labriel teased her son that she’d be coming to Madison a lot.

“Don’t be surprised if you find me on the Terrace and I’m not even here to visit you,” she said.