WITH MORE THAN 20 YEARS IN THE TELEVISION AND FILM INDUSTRY AND A PASSION FOR TRAVEL , BOYLAN CREATED A HIT TV SERIES FOR AMAZON PRIME CALLED " THE COLLEGE TOUR ."
" Cut !” calls the director standing behind two camera operators .
Jacksonville University students and siblings Bobby and Maggie Radloff exhale and relax slightly while the film crew prepares for the next take of their 2-minute segment .
Before the cameras begin rolling again , however , host and executive producer Alex Boylan ' 99 walks over to the brother and sister duo for a coaching moment .
“ You guys are doing an awesome job ! This time , can we try something a bit different ?” he says , offering them some helpful pointers to bring some movement and energy to the shot . They listen intently , and loosen up a little more . Shaking off the butterflies , they try again .
“ And … action ," says the director .
It ’ s atypical for a television host to be so involved in filming . Boylan , however , is anything but typical , and this is no ordinary episode .
Boylan has returned to his alma mater , Jacksonville University , to film the season 4 finale of “ The College Tour ,” now streaming on Amazon Prime and several other platforms . Boylan is creator , executive producer and host of the show , which brings university campuses right into students ’ living rooms to make their college search more accessible and affordable . Each episode focuses on a single college or university and highlights real students . It gives high schoolers an inside look at everything from academics to campus life .
“ This has been one of the most special weeks since I graduated — to be back here [ at JU ] and helping tell the story of my alma mater which
I love so much ,” Boylan said during a break in filming . “ I loved every second I was on this campus . It made me who I am today .”
A NATURAL TALENT
It ’ s easy to imagine Boylan stealing the spotlight when he roamed the oak-lined paths of JU . He ’ s a bright light . Genuine , approachable , charming , and humble , Boylan makes immediate friends wherever he goes . His abundant joy for life and love for people “ breaks through the glass ” — that ’ s industry jargon for someone who is captivating to watch on screen .
Boylan , a Boston native , was bitten by the television bug soon after graduating from Jacksonville University in 1999 with a bachelor ’ s degree in international business . He and friend Chris Luca won the second season of the hit reality TV show “ The Amazing Race ” in 2002 . Boylan decided he wanted to pursue a career in television and soon landed a position at PineRidge Film & Television based in Jacksonville . It was a sales job for PineRidge ’ s stock footage products , but Boylan held tight to his dreams of being on camera .
“ You could see he had a camera presence ,” said PineRidge founder and CEO Jerry Smith , who now teaches part-time at JU as an adjunct professor in the film program . “ He lit up the camera . He had a natural enthusiasm and really amazing energy about him and he still does . I saw that in him .”
Smith agreed to mentor and coach Boylan while he worked at PineRidge . The first challenge , Smith recalled , was getting rid of Boylan ’ s heavy Bostonian accent . “ He would say ‘ I ’ m gonna pahk the cah ’ or he ’ d say ‘ cheez ’ instead of ‘ cheers .’ So I had to teach him to