By Lindsey Coblentz
Will Baumgardner has his hands full of activities and a mouth full of chicken. A junior business major with a minor in biology, Baumgardner is president of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, a swim coach for the USA Swimming Team Cardinal Aquatics and the Men of Prevention, Education and Advocacy on Campus and in the Community Coordinator with the PEACC Center at the University of Louisville. Besides all of his other commitments, Baumgardner has also taken on a new job as a KFC spokesperson in the new “Will It Spill?” Challenge.For this challenge, Baumgardner tests the triple dip strips by eating the strips in awkward situations, such as while riding a mechanical bull and jumping off a high dive. Videos of these tests are then placed on the Web site, http://www.willitspill.com.Viewers can vote on whether or not they think that the sauce will spill in the various videos.Baumgardner first heard of the challenge through an advertisement that was placed in the Louisville Cardinal. The ad was searching for candidates for the challenge with only one requirement: the candidate’s name had to be Will.”One of my friends was like, ‘You should do it, you should do it,'” said Baumgardner. “Finally I called in, and the next day I got called back.”After going through a phone interview and a face-to-face interview at Yum! Brands in Louisville, Baumgardner was selected as the Will for the job. When Baumgardner was learned he got the job, he said, “I could not stop laughing all day long. I did it as kind of a joke honestly.”Once selected, Baumgardner signed a contract to shoot some videos with the KFC Colonel for the Web site. What was it like to work with the Colonel? “It was fun,” said Baumgardner. “He’s always up for anything.”One of Baumgardner’s favorite moments while shooting the videos happened when he and the Colonel shot the high dive video at the pool where he works. “The whole team was there for Saturday practice,” said Baumgardner. “I walked in with the Colonel and they all went crazy.”According to Baumgardner, he has gotten some interesting reactions to his videos. “A lot of people have dissed me for not being able to ride a mechanical bull very well,” said Baumgardner. “They think it’s funny.”For Baumgardner, this experience has been enjoyable, but he doesn’t anticipate a future in the movie industry. “I had a lot of fun with it,” said Baumgardner. “It’s not like it’s my first move for a career in Hollywood or anything.”Now that Baumgardner is done shooting videos for the Web site, he likes having time to get back to his other activities, including being president of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. Baumgardner has been a member of the Greek organization since his first year at U of L. “I love the fraternity,” said Baumgardner. “I love being with the guys, not just being the president.”With all of these activities, how does Baumgardner find any free time? “I have free time at 11:00 at night,” said Baumgardner with a chuckle. “It takes up time, but it’s fun. I enjoy it.”
