Behind the wheel of perhaps the most recognized 1930 Ford Model A Sport Coupe in the world, Hillary Degenkolb turned to look over her shoulder. The quick check of traffic, in the northeast tunnel of Bobby Dodd Stadium on Thursday night, revealed a bottleneck of Georgia Tech football players. In front of her, a huge banner, the green grass of Grant Field and the Tech marching band.
In a moment she called “half terrifying, half just so incredible,” Degenkolb steeled herself for her debut as the year’s driver of the Ramblin’ Wreck at the Yellow Jackets’ season opener against Alcorn State.
“Just seeing football gloves on the rumble seat, just ready to go, everyone jumping up and down,” Degenkolb said. “It was like, OK, this is going to happen.”
A computational media major with a 3.47 GPA, Degenkolb earned a slice of history, becoming the third woman to lead the Jackets onto the field, and the first since 1988. A high-school cheerleader at the Lovett School who can program in HTML, Java, Python and C, Degenkolb fits the mold of spirited achievers that have occupied the seat before her.
“The school has given me so many opportunities career-wise, life-wise, socially-wise, Tech-wise, that I am so thankful for every second I’ve been here,” she said.
