All Aboard the Hot Dog Highway

Last summer, while most of his newly graduated peers were deciding between committing to a post-college job or taking some time to travel, Stephen Harrison had it both ways. Harrison was one of just twelve new college graduates, chosen from seven thousand applicants nationwide, hired to tour the United States in a “Wienermobile,” a hilariously oversized hot dog–shaped vehicle that is used to promote Oscar Mayer products at small-town grocery stores, big county fairs, and everywhere in between.

As part of the annual mobile marketing campaign, which Oscar Mayer first put on the road in 1936, Harrison spent a year in the ketchup-and-mustard-colored driver’s seat, clocking about forty thousand miles across the western half of the country and making three hundred or so scheduled stops to pose for photos, pass out coupons and souvenirs, and wave from the Wienermobile’s open “bun roof” during parades.

For Harrison, the experience was more than a (slightly absurd) adventure in marketing a major American food brand through laugh-inducing live appearances and silly social media posts. He also found this unique road trip to be an excellent opportunity for self-reflection. Harrison kept a journal of his adventure and his interactions with everyday folks, a process that helped him learn more about what he really values and where he sees himself going next. “You have a lot of time to yourself,” he said. “I realized a lot of the things that made me happy at BC are the things I want to continue to do in life.”

Crisscrossing the US inside a massive hot dog wasn’t in Harrison’s plans when he first arrived at Boston College from his Jesuit high school in Pennsylvania. He majored in communication while leading student retreats and the Eagle for a Day program for prospective undergrads. That sociableness helped Harrison stand out when he applied on a whim to be an Oscar Mayer “hotdogger” at the suggestion of his mother, who learned about the position on a TV morning show. After an initial interview with the Oscar Mayer team, Harrison was flown out to Madison, Wisconsin, for a final-round meeting.

A few weeks later, Harrison was walking out of a midterm exam when he got a phone call and an offer: a twelve-month paid stint at the steering wheel. “I had been going through the process for fun. Then I was like, shoot, this is real,” said Harrison, who had already lined up a position as an alumni assistant at his former high school. The Wienermobile won out. “I told them I was sorry, and that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I couldn't turn down doing something so iconic.”

Less than two weeks after his BC graduation, Harrison was back in Madison for “Hot Dog High,” a two-week training that included history lessons about Oscar Mayer, media training, and learning to navigate the four-wheeled frankfurter through “wild” obstacle courses with the help of local police. At the end, Harrison was paired with a copilot, assigned a region of the country, and set out on the open road for drives and appearances five days a week, with two days off for relaxing and sightseeing. Drivers switch partners and are reassigned regions halfway through the twelve-month experience.

“It was so fulfilling, and really scratched my itch to travel,” said Harrison, who took full advantage of the rare opportunity to see a huge swath of the country. He spent his free time collecting postcards, sampling all the local cuisine he could—from gumbo and crayfish in New Orleans to Wisconsin cheese curds and real-deal Texas barbecue—and covering the water bottle in his Wienermobile cup holder with stickers from as many National Parks as possible. “I’m an Eagle Scout and love being outside.”

Then again, a day working from the Wienermobile wasn’t bad, either. “People take their kids out of school to see us,” Harrison said. “One older man came up to us and said, ‘I was having a really bad day, and your smile made me smile. Now I’m going to make someone else smile.’”

Those experiences reinforced for Harrison that connecting with people is what he really enjoys—and so, with his year driving the Wienermobile now wrapped, he’s heading back to BC to pursue a master’s in higher education. He hopes to work in college admissions someday. In the meanwhile, he’s grateful for the education he earned during one truly unforgettable gap year.

“In my journal, I wrote down my lessons from the road,” Harrison said. “One of the first things I learned is that you never know the magnitude in which you can impact someone’s day. That's true of a year-long adventure, and it's true of life.” ◽