Who they are
Tour ambassadors are current Porter students who lead every walking tour that leaves the Welcome Center. That includes weekday visits, Saturday visits, Preview Days and group visits. This year there are 48 of them, from all seven colleges. Eleven are transfer students, nine are commuters, and fourteen were the first in their families to go to college. Ambassadors are paid employees, not volunteers, and they work 6 to 12 hours a week around their classes.
They are not scripted. Ambassadors are trained to answer the hard questions directly, including cost, safety, parking, winter and what they would change, and to say “I don’t know, but here is who does” when that is the true answer. Families say in visit surveys that the honest answers are what they remember most.
The tour routes
Every tour starts at the 1911 depot that houses the Welcome Center, with parking in Lot D. The route is paved, lit and step-free.
| Route | Length | Stops | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core tour | 75 min, about 1.2 miles | The Depot, then the Millrace path to Founders Hall (the 1912 cornerstone and high bay windows), Founders Union, Halvorsen Library, The Forge in Founders Commons and a model room in Heritage Hall | Weekdays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Saturdays in October and April |
| North Campus tour | 90 min | The core tour, then the footbridge and the Riverfront Trail to North Campus residence halls and the Forge Recreation Center | Fridays at 10 a.m.; Preview Days |
| Labs add-on | 45 min | One college building: the Jarvis cyber range, the Health Sciences simulation hospital, the Applied Arts studios or the Founders Hall shops | By request, with one week’s notice |
| Indoor route | 60 min | Connected buildings only | When the wind chill is below zero |
If a family member cannot walk the route, accessible golf-cart transport is available with two business days’ notice. If you cannot visit, the virtual campus tour covers about twenty stops, narrated by ambassadors. Other formats are listed on campus tour options.
What the job involves
- Tours: two to five a week, walking backward for about a mile while answering questions about meal plans.
- Visit days: at least two Saturdays a semester, including one Preview Day and Admitted Student Day in April.
- Calls and panels: optional evening calling nights to admitted students, and student panels for counselor visits.
- Pay: $13.00 an hour, the university’s skilled student-employment tier. Senior ambassadors, who train and schedule the others, earn $15.50.
- Training: 12 hours in January before your first tour, three shadowed tours, and one tour led while the coordinator follows along taking notes. The notes are kind.
Ambassadors also lead the Saturday tours during Millrace Week. Those tours run at 9:30 and 10:30 so they finish before the parade.
How to become one
Admissions hires once a year. The 2027 application opens Monday, November 2, 2026 and closes Friday, November 20.
- Apply through student employment in MyPorter. The application has three short questions, including “What is something about Porter you would tell a visitor that is not in the viewbook?”
- Group interview, December 1–3. It takes 45 minutes and includes a two-minute talk about any building on campus.
- Practice tour segment, December 7–10. You walk one stop of the core route with two current ambassadors.
- Offers go out by December 15, and training starts January 19, 2027.
You need at least one semester at Porter by the time training begins and a cumulative GPA of 2.25 or higher. Being reliable matters more than having a perfect transcript. Commuters, transfers and students from every major are encouraged to apply, because visitors want to meet someone like them. Background on the role is on becoming a campus tour guide. Other campus jobs are on student employment.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. The tour ambassadors, routes, pay rates and hiring dates are invented. No one will walk backward across a footbridge for you, and no job here can be applied for.