2020 Gumbo Final - Book - Page 97
PFT is the Beginning
of a New Era
Story: Taylor Landry
Photo: Bella Biondini
Design: Mariah Graham
P
Self-guided tours of LSU’s Patrick F. Taylor Hall
are now offered as supplement to student-led tours
atrick F. Taylor Hall contains more than 400,000
square feet of space to provide students and
faculty with state-of-the-art classrooms and
labs. With so much to explore, the College of
Engineering recruiting staff created a self-guided
tour to showcase the engineering building and
everything it has to offer.
To start the tour, one scans a QR code at the first
stop, the Capstone Gallery and follow the online
map to hear audio descriptions. All that is needed
is a phone for online explanations and earbuds to
hear the audio.
Director of Communications for the College of
Engineering Joshua Duplechain is excited about
the tour because it displays what PFT has to offer.
“There’s really so much to see and so much going
in the building that the tour has already chosen
the 14 highlights for you to check out when you’re
here,” Duplechain said. “You’ll get to see our
Robotics Lab, our virtual reality BIM Cave, our
beautiful Capstone Gallery, and a number of other
spaces.”
Duplechain said the self-guided tour was created
when recruiters had large groups of prospective
students and families in need of tours of PFT.
“It was created to help our recruiting staff and
ambassadors, who normally give the tours, to
help to meet the demand,” Duplechain said.
“We’re very fortunate to have this building and
the facilities that we do. As such, a lot of people
want to get a tour of the building. This self-guided
tour allows them to do that without first having to
schedule something.”
Biological engineering freshman Chloe Heitmeier
said she was unaware a self-guided tour was
developed but thinks it’s a neat idea. However,
she thinks that there is also valuable information
to be learned from a tour guide.
“Physical tour guides know the best-underrated
study spaces,” Heitmeier said. “You can be taken
through cool highlights with a self-guided tour, but
with a real tour guide, you get realistic information
about the building”
Chemical engineering freshman Holden Horridge
believes that a self-guided tour is a good idea as
long as prospective students still have the option
to be led by someone educated on the building.
“Sure, it is a good idea, but sometimes human
interaction is just better than what technology can
do,” Horridge said.
The tour contains 14 stops. Prospective students
can see main common spaces, student-focused
lab spaces and the Student Services Suite.
Recruiting and Outreach Manager Andy Osborn
said that Chevron Engineering Ambassador-led
tours will still be offered.
“Our Chevron Engineering Ambassadors actually
give almost all of the building tours – and we
definitely still offer tours every weekday for
students who sign up online,” Osborn said. “The
self-guided tour is to be a supplement option for
building tours, but it definitely isn’t a replacement
for our robust Chevron Engineering Ambassador
program and tour offerings.”
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