Watch party held for Amazon Prime’s ‘The College Tour’ premiere
A watch party was held in the Benedicta Arts Center to premiere CSB+SJU's feature on the hit Amazon Prime show, 'The College Tour.' Students and community members gathered to see the half-hour episode for the first time and showcase the 10 student cast members.
Last Thursday evening, the red carpet was rolled out for the CSB+SJU students who starred in Amazon Prime’s series “The College Tour.” The community gathered in the Escher Auditorium to celebrate the episode’s premiere.
During the first week of October, eight current students and two alums had the opportunity to share their experiences at CSB+SJU and beyond. Five Bennies and five Johnnies were chosen as cast members from more than 30 students who auditioned to be in the episode.
CSB+SJU is the first Minnesota school to be included in the series.
Current students featured in the episode are CSB senior Ashley Tarrolly, SJU senior Kaidan Popp, CSB senior Jocie Larson, SJU sophomore Kobe Forbes, CSB senior Clair Moonen, SJU senior Jimmy Buck, CSB junior Stacey Delgado and SJU junior Luke Budzyn. The two featured alumni are Ashley Ortizcazarin (CSB class of ‘22) and Matt Gish (SJU class of ‘22).
For five days in October, “The College Tour” filming crew followed each cast member while recording their stories and highlighting the beauty of the campuses.
Intentionally coordinated, the filming crew was present for a Saturday Johnnie football game day. While showing clips of the players running onto the field, the show’s host, Alex Boylan, stated that Sports Illustrated has ranked Clemen’s Stadium as one of the top locations to watch college football in the nation.
Budzyn, one of the Johnnies starring in the episode, highlighted all the opportunities that CSB+SJU has made available to him. He attributes this to the connections he has made and his studies in the Global Business and Strategic Communication Departments.
“I talked about my experience with an alumni connection and the internship that I had this past summer,” Budzyn said. “Then I talked about some things that I do around campus—I’m on the basketball team, and I love to fish, too.”
Before the episode began, each student walked across the stage to a song of their choice. Budzyn chose “The Man” by Aloe Blacc for his walk-up song.
In the audience, Budzyn’s basketball teammates and his family gathered to support him. His team stood and cheered as he was introduced.
Larson walked across the stage to the song “Betty” by Yung Gravy while wearing a black dress and green heels. Each cast member wore an outfit rented from the online website “Rent the Runway,” funded by each student Senate for the occasion. Carol Bruess worked closely with the cast to coordinate their outfits.
For her story, Larson noted her biochemistry major and theology minor at CSB+SJU and how her experiences, especially within the lab, have prepared her for future endeavors in the medical field.
Clips of Larson studying with friends, doing research in the laboratory and swimming as part of the varsity team played during her segment.
Each cast member brought a plus-one guest to the premiere who stood by their side as they walked the runway. Alongside Larson was St. Ben’s senior Gen Woods.
“She’s one of my best friends,” Larson said. “I just wanted someone by my side who has supported me through it all, and that is her.”
Dean of Admissions Cory Piper shared her satisfaction with the product of the episode after months of coordinating and collaborating with “The College Tour” team.
“This video causes emotion, and as humans, that’s what it’s about because there are so many good college choices out there,” Piper said. “It is your gut that says, ‘I can see myself there, and I can be friends with those kids,’ like ‘I want to study abroad like Clair’ or ‘I want to be in the lab like Jocie,’ and that’s what we want.”
CSB+SJU will be a part of the 10th season of “The College Tour,” which comes out in the summer of 2024. For students who want to watch the episode now, it is on the CSB+SJU website with introductory tabs for each cast member.
As the episode shares the stories of members of the CSB+SJU community, Piper emphasizes the importance of highlighting the student experience and sharing the St. Ben’s and St. John’s story for prospective students moving forward.
Budzyn agreed with this sentiment.
“I’m just really excited to share my love for St. Ben’s and St. John’s with the world,” Budzyn said.
