Online reality show to highlight real-life drama of UF freshman

September 20, 2005

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As 7,277 first-year students begin the fall semester at the University of Florida, one freshman’s adjustment will be chronicled through AOL’s new online college reality show, starting Thursday.

Jessica, whose last name is being withheld for privacy reasons, is a native of Doylestown, Pa., and was chosen to participate in AOL’s Project Freshman through a lengthy application process that included interviews, submitted film footage and questionnaires.

“It will be exciting to see my transition from home to UF online,” said Jessica, 19, who will be responsible for visually documenting her experiences at UF with a digital video camera, film confessionals and a daily blog posted on the AOL RED service.

Jessica and five other college freshmen will document on AOL their personal experiences at their respective colleges. The other students are Conor, University of Notre Dame; Justin, Dallas Baptist University; Sara, University of Wisconsin-Madison; David, University of Missouri; and Brenna, Marshall University. Each of the students will face different challenges as they begin their first semester of college.

Although Jessica is 1,000 miles from home, the telecommunications major said UF was her first choice for college because her father and grandfather graduated from the school, and she felt it had the best program for her major. Jessica said AOL considered her a good candidate for the series because she is attending school so far away from home without the direct support from family and friends in Pennsylvania.

“This is an experiment that, if it goes well, could be really big for AOL,” said Jessica, who also considers the experience to be hands-on practice for someone interested in broadcast journalism.

In addition to her excitement in personal growth through Project Freshman, Jessica feels the show will be beneficial to viewers. The user-friendly site will be easily accessed by the show’s target audience of college freshmen and high school students.

“This is ‘must-see TV’ for any college freshman or high school senior, and since it’s online they don’t even need a TV to watch it,” said Malcolm Bird, senior vice president and general manager of AOL Teens & Kids, in a statement released by AOL. “Their reports are extremely honest and refreshing and each episode really captures what the first semester of college is really like.”

Project Freshman will be available at www.projectfreshman.com when the reality series begins airing Thursday to AOL RED’s more than five million teen members. New episodes will air each Thursday.

Beyond the new reality program, audiences can use AOL keyword: Project Freshman, to view an entire area dedicated to all things related to college.