Meet Gilly From “Gilly on the Street”

By Stephanie DeSantis

Staff Reporter

Ever wonder who that guy running around campus with a camera and microphone yelling at students is?

That’s Robert Gilmore, the director of Campus Experience at Sacred Heart University.

Gilmore gratuated from Sacred Heart in 2007. He then continued his Sacred Heart career and became a graduate assistant in the Student Activities Department. His current position is with undergraduate admissions, and he also runs the Student Ambassador program.

Gilmore is also known around campus for his popular video series, “Gilly on the Street.”

In these videos, he conducts “man-on-the-street interviews.” Gilmore excitingly asks students a variety of questions, mainly pertaining to Sacred Heart or popular trivia questions.

“It was a concept based off of the show ‘Billy on the Street.’ Since everybody calls me Gilly, we put [the names] together, and that’s what we came up with,” said Gilmore.

The video series, “Gilly on the Street,” is inspired by Funny or Die’s “Billy on the Street,” starring comic Billy Eichner. The same performace of fast-paced interviews that Gilly conducts is also similarly seen in Eichner’s popular videos.

Gilmore’s videos are often taped at big events occurring on campus, such as Homecoming, Family Weekend, Move-in Weekend, and Graduation.

There are always a large amount of people on campus, which makes finding participants simple.

“Gilly on the Street,” despite it’s popularity, has not bee at Sacred Heart for a long period of time, as the first episode aired in May of 2017.

The video series was introduced at the spring “Late Night Breakfast.” The idea was initially thought up by The Marketing and Communications Department.

Because the feedback on the series was both positive and highly talked of, the team went on to create seven more “Gilly on the Street,” videos. They plan to continue to make more in the near future.

“Not only are we having fun entertaining students, but we are also showcasing different aspects of the university in a different way,” said Gilmore.

The Student Ambassadors that Gilmore oversees are proud supporters of “Gilly on the Street” as well.

“It’s honestly nothing out of the norm; we expect it from Gilly. He’s a great guy to work for; what you see is what you get,” said junior Jake Masco, a Student Ambassador.

For people that know Gilmore, “Gilly on the Street’s” success is no surprise, either.

“I think ‘Gilly on the Street’ is hilarious. I work with him in Admissions, and it’s easy to see that he has an entertaining side to him,” said senior Elizabeth Bouchard, who is also a Student Ambassador. “But, he’s also very serious about his job. Being able to see him have fun with people and mess with them on camera is very funny.”

With “Gilly on the Street” expanding on campus, more and more students want to be featured in these hilarious and eccentric videos.

“There are students who recognize me and say, ‘when are you going to do the next episode? Can I be featured on it?’ The videos have become a campus trend,” said Gilmore.

However, “Gilly on the Street” is defintely not a one-man job.

Besides the obvious host of the series, there are also the people work behind the scenes.

The man behind the camera, Sean Kaschak, shoots all the footage for “Gilly on the Street.” Kaschak is the Multimedia Communications Coordinator at Sacred Heart.

According to Gilmore, Kaschak will film anywhere from five to ten minutes of footage, and then edit it down to the best parts of the clips to create a good two to three minute video.

“He’s really the brains behind the whole project,” said Gilmore.

The video series has also gained a lot of attention from prospective students who come to Admissions events on campus.

“I have a lot of passion for Sacred Heart University, and I will do anything to help brand Sacred Heart, including getting our name out there more,” said Gilmore.

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