In a recent video, two University of Richmond seniors offer students a coveted ride in a golf cart. The price: answering questions about what it’s like be a UR student.
“It’s a cold day in Richmond, so people need to get to class as quickly as possible. Maybe even at 12 miles per hour,” says Brian Pescatore, in the opening of the light-hearted video. Ups Golf Cart
He soon finds many willing passengers. One has a sociology exam in 10 minutes. Another is heading to lunch. He asks the students about their classes, their favorite things about UR, and where they are from.
“My biggest surprise was how quickly we got such a wide sampling of hometowns, academic interests, extracurriculars, and favorite activities,” Pescatore said. “You never know what you'll find by just driving around campus for an hour and seeing what happens.”
He has been making videos for the Undergraduate Admission office for two years now. One of the perks of his internship is driving a golf cart. “It’s kind of what I’m known for,” joked Pescatore, an economics major who plans to go to law school.
He was noodling ideas for a fun video about common prospective student questions. Then he thought about how people often ask him for a ride in the golf cart. “That planted the seed,” he said.
His friend and fellow intern, Cade Quillen, helped write the questions and did the filming.
“My goal was to make it as entertaining as possible, while also keeping it informative,” said Quillen, an accounting and film studies double major. “Brian and I brainstormed, both before and during filming, different ways that we could add our own senses of humor to the video, and I think we managed to pull that off well.”
The video was a hit.
“The High-Speed Questions video allows us to share authentic student stories with prospective students and their families,” said Rebecca Buffington, director of admission. “We know through industry research that high school students want to hear about student experiences directly from college students.”
The video was the first item shared at Preview Richmond to hundreds of prospective students and their families. The video is also posted to YouTube.
The Cart Golf “Throughout the day, visitors came up to me and complimented the video and asked follow-ups,” Pescatore said, “Some even asked if they could have a ride.”