In North Carolina, NC State students and alumni recognize the name Lampe from a street on main campus or as the last name of a former engineering dean. Around the world, the name is now known for an unusual event: the Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake.
Alumna Abby Lampe, the great-grandaughter of former dean J. Harold Lampe, is believed to be the first American woman to ever win this event. After graduating with her degree in industrial and systems engineering in May 2022, she celebrated with a summer in Europe. She traveled widely around the continent, visiting Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Scotland, France and England. Like many people her age, she was excited to see Billie Eilish and Harry Styles in concert while in Europe, but the cheese rolling was a major priority for her.
For those unfamiliar, cheese rolling involves chasing a round of cheese down a steep hill either by running, rolling or falling after it. Lampe learned about the competition through social media and YouTube videos.
“I wanted to compete in this event because I think it’s really funny, very interesting and unique,” Lampe said. “It’s like no other sporting event.”
When the morning of the competition dawned, she was ready in an NC State sweatshirt.
“I was confident, and I was so ready to get down to the bottom of the hill,” she said. “I don’t think I was fearful at all. I really wanted to win by any means necessary, so if that meant breaking something, if that meant spraining something to get down to the bottom of the hill first, I was going to do it.”
When the race started and Lampe began rolling, she was disoriented. While she felt unsure of where she was on the hill, she had one concern: her teeth.
“I had braces from my freshman year to my senior year of high school, so I wanted to avoid any additional time with the orthodontist,” she said. “I love my orthodontist, but I did not want to have any more dental work done.”
Although she did not know the location of her competitors, she had taken quite a lead in coming down the hill. Despite someone’s last-minute attempt to pass her, she was the first to the bottom.
After the race, Lampe stood covered in mud, her collegiate sweatshirt a little worse for the wear.
“It was everything I could ever dream for,” she said.
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