About Us

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Our Team

The VIS team is made up of 3 full-time employees and 70–90 Tour Guides, 6–10 of which serve as student manager paraprofessionals.

Description

Tour Guides work as a part of the Office of Undergraduate Admission to present their Stanford experiences to prospective students and other visiting guests.

We offer undergraduate tour programs ranging from general campus tours to academic specialty tours (engineering & computer science, humanities & arts, and social sciences). In addition to giving tours, Guides are responsible for staffing the Visitor Center by completing administrative office tasks, participating in online/virtual programs, leading student panels and discussion groups, communicating with newly admitted students, and answering visitor questions both in person and over the phone.

We’re looking for people who are enthusiastic about sharing their experience as a Stanford student with others and acting as the face of Stanford University for prospective students and general visitors from all over the world. This job requires individuals who can communicate effectively and courteously while practicing discretion and professional judgment in dealing with the public.

All Tour Guides must meet the following expectations:

  • Greet and interact with visitors in a friendly, respectful, and helpful manner

  • Display excellent communication skills and deal calmly with unpredictable situations

  • Assess visitors’ needs and provide accurate information, directions, and support to meet these needs

  • Deliver genuine yet appropriate responses to visitor inquiries

  • Be enthusiastic about Stanford's past, present, and future

  • Be a team player: friendly, punctual, tactful, and patient

  • Attend required trainings and staff meetings

Get To Know Current Guides

Tour Guides are more than people who can spout facts and stories to large groups of people while walking backwards.

As the faces of Stanford for the thousands that visit campus every year, we seek to represent the Stanford student body as authentically and comprehensively as we can by having Guides who can showcase diverse identities. We are dedicated athletes, strong women, hard-working engineers, first-generation pioneers, wacky musicians, proud members of the Latinx, Black, Asian, Muslim, international, and queer communities, and more. We want to make it possible for every prospective student who walks through the Visitor Center doors to see a bit of themselves in one of our Guides, to connect with and be inspired by the representation of Stanford we create.

To continue to strengthen and broaden our community and the knowledge and identities we represent, we need you. We asked a few of our Student Guides to speak about what being a Tour Guide means to them. Take a look below!

Amhad

Ahmad Koya

Wassup, y'all, the name's Ahmad. I'm a Senior majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). Not gonna lie, there are two things I had to do when I first got to Stanford: study abroad (I'm going to Santiago this spring quarter) and be a tour guide. I would say I'm a charismatic, gregarious, and loquacious person who loves to meet people, and being a tour guide is a fun way to be myself. Imagine getting paid to walk around campus, meet people, and talk about your interests, all while having a good time. For example, I've met people from China, Australia, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Japan, and many more. So to finish up, for me, it was a no-brainer to apply, and you should consider applying if you have any interest in getting paid to have fun.

Allan

Allan Lopez

Hi there! I’m Allan, and I’m a Senior from Los Angeles studying English. Back in high school, I knew nothing about Stanford and only applied because my dad wanted me to try and stay in California. Getting in was incredible but also a bit nerve-racking because I had no idea how I was going to fit in at a school I thought was just for coding. Luckily, I took a tour during Admit Weekend and my guide, Juju, swept away those misconceptions and got me excited to be a Stanford student. Now I get to do the same thing and help other FLI students learn how awesome Stanford is and how insane the opportunities are here compared to back home. I get to tell them that you can do research with Nobel laureates, look through John Steinbeck’s handwritten manuscripts, and take a trip to Lake Tahoe for free. Talking about Stanford has ended up being one of my favorite things to do here, so if that sounds fun to you, apply to be a tour guide today!

Anastazja

Anastazja Krostenko

Hey! I’m Anastazja and I, like many of you, was a bit of a know-it-all in high school. It’s embarrassing, I know, but I’ll admit it. And don’t lie, I bet lots of you were too. I applied to be a tour guide because I wanted to be a know-it-all about Stanford.

I was shocked to find that’s not the job at all. Visitors don’t come to campus asking how many trees there are along Palm Drive or when and where the robotics club meets. They want to know if you like your major. If you get homesick. If you have a good relationship with your roommate. If Stanford has lived up to your expectations, or let you down, or changed your perception of the world.

Being a tour guide keeps me grateful. Every time I give a tour, I am reminded of how grateful I am to walk through Main Quad to get to class, to be surrounded by such innovative research, and to have such unique opportunities. I get paid to tell people about my favorite classes and how cool my friends are.

And … sometimes I get to be a know-it-all. Tour guiding is the most rewarding job on campus, hands-down.

Jasmine

Jasmine de Lourdes Rodriguez

Hi y'all! My name is Jasmine, and I'm from just outside of Dallas, TX. I graduated from Stanford last year with a degree in Management Science & Engineering and am currently pursuing a co-terminal master's degree in Computer Science. Throughout my time at Stanford, I've been a part of numerous dance groups, pre-professional organizations, and identity-based communities. When I was touring colleges in high school, while it was interesting to learn about topics like academics, extracurriculars, and dining, I always found it difficult to actually imagine myself at a college at the end of a tour. However, when I toured Stanford, I felt Stanford would not just be a school I would be attending for the next 4 years, but actually a place where I could confidently call my home away from home. This is why I wanted to become a tour guide. While people come to Stanford to learn about our incredibly enriching academic scene, diverse extracurriculars, and extensive programming, I want people to walk away from a tour not just feeling like this is a place where they will learn and grow, but a place where they will truly be able to call home.

Josie

Josie Barton

Have you ever heard that the act of smiling (even a fake smile) can actually make you happier? The idea is that smiling triggers a certain facial muscle that can essentially trick your brain into thinking you’re happy. I often think about being a Stanford tour guide in a similar sense. I know that doesn’t sound very promising but hear me out: school is hard. And as much as we love school most of the time, we all have those classes that feel too long, that homework we don’t want to do, and those days when we wish we could just go home. But the thing I love about being a tour guide is that even on those hard days, I have to get up, put a smile on my face, and tell groups of hopeful young students everything I love about Stanford. I share with them all the amazing opportunities that Stanford offers in and outside the classroom and about all the friends I’ve met who make school feel like summer camp. It may not always feel authentic in the moment, but ten times out of ten, I leave the Visitor's Center way happier. I get to remember why I chose Stanford and why so many young people dream of coming to this place that I call home. So even (and especially) on those days when the last thing I feel is appreciative, I end up feeling really happy about where I am. That’s why becoming a tour guide was the best decision I’ve made at Stanford. Being a tour guide means telling others, and often reminding yourself, why you love this school. Being a tour guide means laughing a lot, smiling a lot, and fake smiling just a little. But the end result is always happy. AND we get paid to do it.

Katie

Katie Kearney

Hi Everyone! I’m Katie. I’m a Senior majoring in bioengineering and minoring in computer science. I’m originally from Austin, TX. When I came to Stanford it was my first time moving away from home and living so far away from my parents and my brothers. I was nervous about finding communities I fit in with and just adapting to college life. I took a tour on move in day, though, and heard about all of the different opportunities, both academic and not, here at Stanford and I immediately realized that this is a place everyone can be happy and grow. That’s a huge part of why I became a tour guide - to share my excitement and love for Stanford with prospective students and to make sure they know that anyone and everyone is welcome here. Additionally, the tour guide community has become one of the most supportive and fun groups I’ve been a part of during my time here and I couldn’t imagine Stanford without it!

Peter

Peter Ling

What’s up! My name is Peter, and I am a Senior from Los Angeles studying Computer Science on the Human-Computer Interaction track. While I have only been a tour guide for a few months now, my time at VIS has completely enhanced my Stanford experience. Through tour guiding, I’ve met some amazing people, as I get the opportunity to spend time with some extremely fun, positive, and kind people at VIS. This new community has become an extremely strong part of my daily life at Stanford. I’ve also had the opportunity to continue spreading my excitement and love for Stanford that began watching Andrew Luck years ago and has continued throughout my life. It has been super fun to reflect on the good times I’ve had here by telling stories of my experience at Stanford. Guiding has also given me a new appreciation for Stanford, as I’ve been able to learn so much more about the school's different departments, programs, people, and opportunities. If you enjoy making new friends and spreading positivity through campus, then you should definitely join me and apply to be a Tour Guide!