Nearing graduation, many seniors scrambled to figure out where their next destination would be after leaving the Heights. Applications for internships and jobs were turned in left and right to law firms, engineering corporations, and other businesses all over the world.
Among these new BC alumni, there is one that you can’t miss: Stephen Harrison, MCAS ’24. Why might he catch your eye? Two words: the Wienermobile.
Born and raised in the suburbs of Havertown, Pa., Harrison attended St. Joseph’s Prep, a Jesuit, all-boys highschool before deciding to continue his Jesuit education at Boston College. Though he was unsure of his major at first, Harrison soon channeled his passion for talking to others into his academics.
“I talked to my academic advisor, and he said, ‘We can make you a communication major for the semester, and if you don’t like the class, you can drop the major,’” Harrison said. “And I’m still graduating as a communication major.”
In addition to his major, Harrison also found purpose through his extracurricular activities. Not only does he work the Kairos retreats hosted each year, but he has also been on the BC Student Admissions Program’s (SAP) council for the past two years.
Kristen Gallant, associate director of undergraduate admission, has mentored Harrison and supervised the summer admissions program that Harrison worked on last summer. Gallant pointed to Harrison’s openness towards other students as one of his greatest strengths.
“There were definitely some members of the team who probably knew each other before, but really taking those people who are not necessarily part of a friend group under his wing and inviting him to be a part of the circle,” Gallant said. “So, he was definitely an integral part of creating that community over the summer.”
During the summer, Harrison would arrange trips for the group to bring them closer together. Caroline Williams, MCAS ’24, worked with Harrison in Kairos as well as the SAP summer program. She attested to the fact that Harrison exudes positivity and spreads it to the summer admission leaders.
“I would also say he’s very adventurous both on the job and outside the job,” Williams said. “I think he really brings the team together, so for example, this summer, we would spend time during work planning little trips and actually go on them. So, we went on a hiking trip to Acadia and things like that.”
As with many graduating seniors, the job search process for Harrison began early on in the school year. Originally, he was offered a job working as a teacher at his old high school.
“Funny enough, I actually applied in November for a different job—going back to my highschool for the year, doing service there, doing college counseling there, teaching math, and doing Kairos there,” Harrison said.
When his mom sent a text in his family group chat about a position at Oscar Mayer, however, Harrison said he immediately took interest.
“She sent it in our family group chat, and she was like ‘Stephen, you should apply for this.’ I read the website, and honestly, a lot of the qualifications were exactly fitting me,” Harrison said. “It was a lot of communication, marketing majors, experience traveling and driving, and a sense of adventure that they were looking for.”
On a whim, Harrison decided to apply. The position was listed as mainly a social media marketing job in which the employees would drive the Wienermobile around the country.
Williams, who had had a friend work in the same position previously, stated how Harrison’s professional skills as well as his positive personality made him the perfect candidate for the position.
“As soon as I heard he was interested in it, I was like, ‘He’s the perfect person for this job’ because it combines talking to people and getting to know people, but also that adventure piece,” Williams said.
Harrison’s knack for conversing with people will come in handy when his hotdog-shaped car stops at grocery stores selling Oscar Mayer hotdogs. After stopping at the store, Harrison will step out of the car and meet families heading in to buy dinner.
“I think the idea is you’re parked out there, and kids and families come up and see it, and you take pictures with them, and they’re really happy,” Harrison said. “I think the idea is that they have Oscar Mayer hotdogs in their mind to go into the grocery store to get for dinner that night.”
After not hearing back from Oscar Mayer, Harrison decided to commit to his other offer at St. Joseph’s. Yet, the same week that he accepted the job, he got an email from Oscar Mayer asking him to come in for an in-person interview.
“Then after Spring Break, they flew me out to Madison, Wis. to do an in-person interview with the top 24,” Harrison said. “My mindset has been like, ‘I’m just kind of doing this for fun to see how far I can get.’”
Right before Easter, Harrison got the job.. He then had to decide whether to stick with the teaching position at St. Joseph’s or try out the marketing one at Oscar Mayer.
Gallant expressed how Harrison was nervous about making the right choice, but she encouraged him to see the Oscar Mayer offer as a new opportunity.
“I think that he felt like he was maybe turning his back on that, and I was like, ‘Don’t view it like that. View it as this is a once in a lifetime thing,’” Gallant said.
Out of 7,000 applicants, Harrison was one of 12 to be chosen for the job. Ultimately, he accepted it, taking on his official role as a “Hotdogger.”
On June 2nd, Harrison began training to get his special CVL driver’s license to operate the Wienermobile. Harrison said he is excited to begin driving, and his love for traveling coincides nicely with the adventurous part of his job.
“I haven’t gotten the opportunity to go very far. When I was in Madison, I told my interviewers that was the furthest west I’ve ever been,” Harrison said. “So, I’m looking forward to moving farther than that. I’m really excited for on my days off, I get to explore where I am, and I’ll get to be in a new place pretty much every week.”
Additionally, Harrison will get his own Oscar Mayer social media account to post his adventures on. He has already taken off on his personal LinkedIn account after making a post announcing his commitment to the Oscar Mayer position.
“I knew that if I got the position, the number one thing I wanted to do was make a very CSOM LinkedIn post because I was like any job I got I was going to make a LinkedIn post because it’s going to be cool, but this specifically, I was like, ‘I can go so far with this,’” Harrison said.
The post was hit with likes and supportive comments from friends, family, classmates, teachers, and his future employers.
Harrison explained that one of the most inspiring parts has been to see not only people his age getting excited about his job, but also older people who had been surrounded by Oscar Mayer for years.
“Especially people who are a little older than us, like older generations, grew up with it and have such good memories with it,” Harrison stated. “I haven’t met one person who’s been like, ‘That’s weird. That’s a weird post-grad experience.’”
Not only was Harrison hailed online, but also on BC’s campus in his final weeks of class, even by people he didn’t know at all.
“I’m really grateful for the amount of people who have shown me so much support,” Harrison said. “I honestly felt like a mini celeb the past few weeks. My roommates would come home and be like ‘Someone was talking about you in class today.’”
Harrison said it was moments like these that made him realize how his job with Oscar Mayer was not only an individual effort on his part, but also a team effort with the people who helped him through the process.
“Honestly, one of the only reasons I’m doing it is because everyone pushed me to do it really hard, which I’m really grateful for because I think it’s going to be a really awesome opportunity,” Harrison said. “But there was a moment where I was like, ‘I can’t do this because I have another job.’ But everyone kind of pushed me out of that.”
As Harrison begins his venture out this summer, he hopes to be able to come back to BC to see his alma mater and maybe even attend a football tailgate with the Wienermobile. Until we “meat” again Stephen!
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