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An Austin High School grad recently found herself at the forefront of one of the biggest days on any college campus in the Midwest.

Victoria Hansen, a 2020 AHS grad, served as the “Grand Pooba” of Hobo Days at South Dakota State on Oct. 12 this year. She was crucial in planning the event, which is part of Homecoming, and she also got to ride a 1912 Model T car in the parade, which has been an SDSU tradition for 112 years.

Hansen said that Hobo Days is a reference to the phrase Homeward Bound and the senior, who is set to graduate in December, feels it is perfect for the plight of a college student.

“Us college students kind of resonate with what people might know as a hobo,” Hansen said. “We’re wandering through life, not really sure of where we’re going, but working hard to get there. That’s the spirit that we go with.”

After being asked to help by a friend, Hansen worked on last year’s Hobo Days as a security coordinator and this year she took over as the “Grand Pooba,” which is basically the spokesperson and organizer of the event.

Hansen’s duties included proposing and managing a budget, interviewing and selecting 17 other students to help plan the event, and tracking the finances of Hobo Day.

This year’s parade drew 40,000 spectators, which was pretty impressive for the town of Brookings, S.D., which has a total population of approximately 23,000.The parade runs from main street to campus.

“To have the parade basically double the size of Brookings was a pretty cool thing. If I didn’t have my team behind me and without each of us working hard, that whole week wouldn’t have happened,” Hansen said. “It was kind of a surreal feeling to line up the parade entries and then at the very end, we got to go through and ride in it.”

Hansen is Agriculture Science Major and she has been involved in the SDSU Dairy Club, Agronomy and Conservation Club.

In high school, Hansen was highly active in 4-H and FFA. She was inspired by her general livestock coach John Carroll, who had the phrase “Fly, together, die together.”

“John was a big influence for me and he really instilled the teamwork aspect in us,” Hansen said. “I learned to be a part of something that was a little bigger than myself.”

Hansen has already started looking for career opportunities, but she is uncertain of where she will land. After doing Hobo Day, she is thinking about the possibility of working in a field where she can plan events.

“I really enjoy event planning and leadership and if I could find the best of both worlds, that would be awesome,” Hansen said.

Hansen is the daughter of Corey and Kaye Hansen and she is a third generation Jackrabbit.