A TV show now in its 14th season focused on college campuses has just filmed at the University at Albany. WAMC’s Samantha Simmons spoke with some of the cast.
“The College Tour” series is meant to share the stories of students at colleges and universities across the nation. Each episode focuses on one school, following students cast to share their experiences.
It’s hosted by Alex Boylan, a producer and winner of the second season of “The Amazing Race.” But who cares about the day-to-day life of college students? Boylan says other students do.
Boylan says it started when his niece couldn’t decide where to go to college so he decided to use his background in travel shows.
“We're blessed to be in the country with almost 4,000 institutions,” Boylan said. “But how do you navigate that search? You know, whether you're looking at institution that's right next to your you know, right nearby or across the country. And so, I was like, why don't we create a television show? And that's how the College Tour was born.”
Boylan’s niece, then a barista, chose the third school featured in the series: Arizona State University, after hearing a student say they were on a full-ride through a Starbucks scholarship.
At UAlbany, 10 students took crews through a day in their life.
Kevin Reyes, a first-year graduate student, was one of them. The nanoscale engineering major says his research is “groundbreaking,” making his experience worthy to highlight.
“I don't see myself as some kind of genius,” Reyes said. “You don't have to be like some incredible, super genius to be able to do it, which is why I feel like anybody watching or anybody listening or knowing about my story can sort of see themselves in that position, and that they believe that they can do it, and they have the potential, you know, anybody can really do it.”
Criminal justice major Jaelyn Staiano will continue her education in the fall at UAlbany. She plans to get a graduate certificate in cybersecurity while applying to law school. Staiano is a transfer student from the now-shuttered nearby College of Saint Rose, which closed in June after more than a century, citing financial pressure and declining enrollment.
More than 200 students transferred to UAlbany for the Fall 2024 semester. Staiano says UAlbany had opportunities, like the Cold Case Analysis Center, that she couldn’t find elsewhere.
“UAlbany is an R-1 top tier research university, and we have a lot of different learning experiences,” Staiano said. “And this semester, I am an undergraduate research assistant for the complex crime mapping and analysis project. So, yeah, just really exciting things here to do on campus and to be part of, and that's what I talked about.”
The Amazon episode is slated to air sometime in the fall.
The show has also filmed at several other schools in the region in recent years, like Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Western New England University, and the University of Vermont.
In a statement, UAlbany called the series a "unique marketing opportunity."
