FIU students, alumni in latest season of The College Tour

By Madeline Baro, Miami’s Community News | December 14, 2021

Florida International University is the star of the latest episode of The College Tour, an Emmy-nominated series currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime TV. The series showcases colleges and universities around the country through the eyes of students.

Each episode of The College Tour features a different university and is led by real students and recent alumni who provide an insider’s look at campus life, academics, students and recent alumni who provide an insider’s look at campus life, academics, housing, sports, activities, and more. FIU is the first public university in Florida to be featured.

“This is an innovative way of recruiting new students from around the world even when we are not able to be together in person,” said Jody Glassman, FIU Director of University Admissions. “Through The College Tour we’re able to reach millions of students and still give them a true, student-driven taste of our FIU.”

On the show, 20 FIU students and alumni gave insight into a different element of FIU campus life. The cast includes Binta Olabasi, an economics student from Nigeria speaking about student diversity; D’Andria Hollins, a biology student who is dedicated to giving back to the community and studies plant compounds that could treat diseases, and Carlos Vasco, an FIU alumnus and critical care nurse who discussed health education at FIU and the Simulation Teaching and Research Center (STAR) Center, a state-of-the-art clinical simulation center.

FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg also is featured in a segment, having cafecito with The College Tour creator and host Alex Boylan.

“The idea for The College Tour TV series came to me from my 16-year-old niece. Because of the pandemic and finances, she wasn’t able to travel to tour colleges,” Boylan said. “So, using our skills as executive producers we created a series inspired by her and millions of other young people who are interested in attending college.”

Other universities that have been featured in the series include UC Davis, Baylor University, Arizona State University and the University of Connecticut.