When Penn State graduates Kylie Nellis and Tera Zeishauser drive on the highway in their current vehicle, they get plenty of honks, cheers and photo requests.
That’s because Nellis and Zeishauser are Oscar Mayer Hotdoggers. As hotdoggers, they’re touring the country in the Wienermobile for a year, handing out stickers, coupons and hot dog whistles.
This year, three Penn State graduates were selected out of more than 1,000 applicants for the job.
But they’re not the first.
Penn State graduate Mary Kate DeCoursey, Class of 2009, said the year she spent cruising through 28 states in the Wienermobile was one of the best experiences in her life.
All three women said there’s nothing better than making a person’s day simply by showing up in the Wienermobile.
“The really cool things is that the Wienermobile is so well known that people get really excited when they see it,” DeCoursey said.
Nellis said following DeCoursey’s adventures in the Wienermobile sparked her interest in applying. But she said she never expected to be chosen out of so many applicants.
“I was really surprised and excited,” Nellis said. “I knew I had to take the job, that’s for sure.”
DeCoursey said she, too, was surprised to find herself hotdogging after graduation.
Not sure what to do after graduation, DeCoursey attended an Oscar Mayer information session at a professor’s suggestion.
University spokeswoman Jill Shockey said the university is proud of students who represent the university well.
“Having the unique experience of being ‘hotdoggers’ is not just a great resume-building opportunity; it also sounds like a one-of-a-kind adventure,” she said.
DeCoursey spent six months driving through the Northwest — where she “pretty much fell in love with the West Coast” — and then six months driving in her home region of the Northeast.
After graduating from “hot dog high” — where she learned how to drive the vehicle and some Oscar Mayer history — in June, Nellis began her own hotdogging experience. Currently, she is traveling the Southeast in the Wienermobile. Around Christmas time, she will be relocated to a new region.
The Wienermobile and its hotdoggers spend about four to seven days in a location, Nellis said — and everywhere they go people get excited.
Surprisingly, driving the 27-foot dog around isn’t too difficult. Zeishauser said driving the Wienermobile is very similar to driving a large van or SUV. But her favorite part of the experience isn’t the car — it’s the destinations.
“We get to see tons of places we normally wouldn’t get to see,” she said. “That’s been one of my favorite part of the job so far.”
This week, Nellis is hotdogging in northeastern Tennessee and Zeishauser just rolled into St. Louis.
No matter where Nellis goes, she said she always runs into Penn State alumni.
DeCoursey said her favorite places to stop is where the military bases are. Often times, families would pose for a photo with the iconic car, saying they wanted to send it to a family member who was overseas, which DeCoursey said was touching.
She said there were plenty of emotional moments during the trip.
Once, while DeCoursey was eating dinner at a family member’s house in New Jersey, a passerby spotted the Wienermobile parked in the driveway. It was a woman whose son had recently passed away from multiple sclerosis. Her son’s doctor was a descendant of Oscar Mayer, a tidbit the son loved to hear about. The woman had stopped to say hi to the Wienermobile, DeCoursey said.
“It was really cool for her to get emotional and know her son was saying hi through the Wienermobile,” DeCoursey said.