Glee Is in the Heart

This will actually be the third Commencement ceremony Josh Ingersoll has attended. As a member and now outgoing president of Georgia Tech’s Glee Club, Ingersoll has sung the national anthem, the alma mater, and of course the Ramblin’ Wreck at previous ceremonies.

Now he will be singing at his own graduation on May 5, where he will also pick up his diploma, shake President Peterson’s hand, and celebrate a milestone. And he can’t imagine a better way to mark the occasion.

“Georgia Tech has always been my dream school,” says the Caledonia, New York, native. Ingersoll graduated from a small high school and was one of only three in his class to go to college out of state. “I knew that I wanted to do aerospace engineering since my first year of high school, and Tech had a highly ranked undergraduate program.”

Even as he pursued his academic dreams, Ingersoll was able to follow another of his loves: singing. Since first joining a choir in fourth grade, he has been “singing my whole life.” He made the New York All-State choir in his senior year and was named All-County for seven years in a row, and was also active in musical theater.

At Tech, he was immediately inspired to join the Glee Club after seeing them perform at New Student Convocation. “They seemed like a great group of guys who enjoyed singing and had a great time doing it,” he recalls. “I decided to show up to the first rehearsal on my first day of class.”

Ingersoll never looked back. As a member of the Glee Club, which was founded in 1906 (two years before the Yellow Jacket Marching Band, he notes), he has traveled across the country, proudly representing Georgia Tech. Ingersoll says it “thoroughly enriched my undergraduate experience.”

Between his studies and his singing, Ingersoll made the most of the opportunities that Georgia Tech has to offer. He traveled everywhere from the historic Callaway family home in LaGrange, Georgia, to the nation’s capital and Yankee Stadium. And he spent one summer studying in Ireland, and two summers working at General Electric in Cincinnati, where he helped design a new jet engine. “Coming to Tech, I had no idea what was in store for me,” he says.

He has a better idea of what’s in store after graduation. He will be returning in the fall to begin a master’s degree in aerospace engineering. Ingersoll is already looking forward to experiencing another Yellow Jacket football season and continuing to do meaningful research in the lab. He will also be serving as an officer in the Glee Club, overseeing recruitment and social media efforts.

When asked what his most memorable Glee Club moment has been, he doesn’t skip a beat. “My favorite event will be singing at my own Commencement. I can’t wait to sing Ramblin’ Wreck for all my fellow graduates!”