Ride Out in Style Program Gives Graduates a Bucket List Opportunity

For many Georgia Tech students, a ride in the Ramblin’ Wreck is a bucket-list item before graduation.  

Tech’s mechanical mascot, a 1930 Ford Model A Sports Coupe, has been a fixture on campus and in the hearts of Yellow Jackets alike since 1961, and with the Ramblin’ Reck Club’s Ride Out in Style program, more students will have an opportunity to cruise through campus in the iconic car before Commencement.  

The club, which is charged with maintaining the vehicle and sharing its history with the Tech community, will facilitate the program. Through a Sign-Up Genius form, graduating students get an exclusive chance to ride through campus, cruising from the Reck Garage to the Campus Recreation Center before swinging by another staple of campus, Tech Tower.  

Sof Zambrano Molina, the current student driver, is behind the wheel wearing a silver heart-shaped locket with a photo of the vehicle inside. She relishes her role in turning a student’s wish into reality.  

“It’s always been said by drivers that the Wreck is owned by the student body, and we’re just the ones who get the car from point A to point B,” Molina said. “Since the Wreck is a symbol of Georgia Tech, students deserve the chance to be able to interact with it in that way.”  

In addition to Ride Out in Style, this semester also saw the launch of the new Bucket List Ride program. Before Ride Out in Style begins toward the semester’s end, bucket list rides are open to all students, staff, and faculty members — along with up to two of their friends — and give the community a chance to take a ride and learn more about the car.  

“I think interacting with the Wreck should be a formative part of every Tech student's journey,” Molina said. “From my experience — from watching people inside the car and seeing how happy they are, or even just seeing how happy students are whenever you drive past them — it's like the car inherently spreads joy.” 

For some, seeing the car on campus is the memory they hold onto, Molina says, but for others, it’s a sound they’ll never forget.  

“I had someone ask me today, ‘Hey, can I blow the horn?’ and she was so excited. And that’s the part a lot of people recognize,” she said.  

As Commencement nears, for any students who find a Wreck-shaped hole in their heart, don’t miss your chance to cross this ride off your Georgia Tech bucket list.