Kristin Conder, Public Relations senior, Regan Garrison, Communications junior, and Taylor Krebs, International and Area Studies sophomore, welcome visitors to OU. The three students are tour guides for the Visitor Center. Saul Martinez/The Daily

Walking backwards and knowing OU trivia are just a few skills necessary to land a job as a tour guide for OU, a highly sought-after position.

“It is very competitive and generally we have more than enough applicants. This fall semester we had about 50 applications and eight or nine spots,” said Andy Roop, Prospective Student Services director.

Roop said most tour guides continue until they graduate, which leads to less available positions and a more competitive application process.

Beth Pearcy, architecture sophomore, knows how competitive the application process can be.

“When I first came to school here, I already knew I wanted to be a tour guide. I just thought I would be really good at it. I applied, and didn’t get it, but I kept trying.”

Pearcy didn’t take no for an answer and reapplied. But this time she didn’t just turn in her application, she decided to be more persistent. She visited the office several times and introduced herself to current tour guides and asked them to recommend her as a guide.

Pearcy is now an OU tour guide.

She said her campus tour was an essential part of her decision to attend OU.

“The tours are huge deals when choosing a college. The guide talked to me, and I felt like I knew him on a personal level,” Pearcy said.

Pearcy’s interest and excitement about being a tour guide is essential, Roop said.

“We look for students who have an active interest in visiting with students about the university they choose. They will be speaking to student’s not only from Oklahoma but all over the United States,” Roop said.

While extensive training is required, most of the guides said it isn’t too difficult.

Preston White, a biochemistry senior and tour guide, said the training requires learning a book of facts about OU’s campus. Before giving a tour alone, the guides are required to follow veteran tour guides, give two or three tours under the supervision of a veteran tour guide and secure approval from a director of prospective students.

“There’s quite a bit of hard knowledge facts on buildings, colleges,” White said. “For me it was less of memorization than I like to throw in my own personal experiences and cool stuff that has happened to me that isn’t in the tour guide book. I like to give them different experiences from different tour guides.”

Roop said tour guides are encouraged to give their tours a personal touch.

“We want our tour guides to share their personal experiences with the group while they are out on campus,” Roop said.