I just recently joined the Ambassador Program at RPI as a tour guide, and I’m having a blast so far. It’s fun to work with high school students who are in the process of making their college decision; a process I went through only a year ago. You get to meet a lot of interesting people, most of whom have done some pretty amazing things as high school students.
RPI’s campus is full of interesting facts and history. For example, Walker Laboratory was completely renovated in 1996 because it burned to the ground in a fire started by a bitter Troy fire department chief who had gotten laid off shortly before the fire. The USA Olympic bobsled team uses RPI’s wind tunnels in Ricketts to test the aerodynamics of their sled every couple of years, and the George M. Low building has clean rooms second only to Intel’s. Also, a fact that many people already know is the reason why some of RPI’s buildings, Russell Sage College, and several soup kitchens in Troy are named after Russell Sage. Russell Sage was a rich reprobate who hated three things: philanthropy, higher education, and women. To get back at him, his wife donated all his money to each of those three things when he died.
Part of the tour includes exhibiting the engineering timeline of the third floor of the Jonsson Engineering Center, which is something I had never paid attention to until I started giving tours. RPI has some pretty fascinating alumni. George Ferris, the inventor of the Ferris wheel, was an RPI graduate. The builder of the Brooklyn Bridge, Washington Roebling, also graduated from RPI. There is also a picture of Kevin Bacon on the timeline. He did not graduate from RPI, though he played the role of Jack Swigert (an RPI graduate) in the movie Apollo 13.
The only drawback to being a tour guide is dealing with RPI students who scream negative statements at the group as we walk by. During the four tours that I have been a part of, at least seven students have exclaimed “Don’t come here!” or “RPI sucks!” I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I don’t think that everyone has to love the school they attend, but when one of my fellow tour guides asked someone why he felt that the school was so bad, he couldn’t give her a response. If you are going to scream a negative—or even a positive—statement at a tour group, you should at least have one reason to back it up. Be prepared to be asked why if it’s on my tour.
Next time you see a tour group, be polite. You were in their shoes not that long ago. Also, if you have some spare time in the JEC, check out the engineering timeline. There’s a lot more to this campus than you would think.
