This opportunity was presented to me through the
Queens Sport Management Program
at my university,
Queens University of Charlotte
. Members of the club were given the chance to work for the NFL Workforce through Atrium and the Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee, during Super Bowl pre-week and gameday. Through fundraising and individual efforts, the Queen’s Crew and I were able to pay our way to Las Vegas to be a part of this life-changing experience.??
Working at
Sports Biz Careers
, I wanted to use this platform to reflect on my experience, as I know not every student may have access to resources or opportunities like this. In sharing this, my hope is to help other students navigate their sports journey. At the end of this is advice on ways college students can create opportunities for themselves and why it's important to take advantage of every opportunity.
- Wednesday 2/7 was my first official shift in Las Vegas! I was able to work the NFL Super Bowl Fan Experience at the bench press station. This was super fun because the weight looked heavier than it really was, and fans were enjoying every minute of it.?This was a great example of how to engage with fans and build up excitement for the game!
- Thursday 2/8 we joined
Living Sport
to listen to a Keynote from 3x Olympic Gold Medalist LaShawn Merritt. Lashawn provided us with amazing insight from his Olympic journey & inspiring career advice as we embark on our professional endeavors. Along with the honor of being in the presence of an accomplished Olympian, we were actually able to hold his gold medal!!?
- Friday 2/9 was a busy day for our crew. We were given the opportunity by
MKTG
to tour the Mars Wrigley Hospitality Suite, which was filled with all sorts of unique brand related items to showcase the Super Bowl taking place in Las Vegas, such as a mock Lombardi trophy made of mini snickers and M&M playing cards! Following the Tour, we attended “The Shuffle: Networking Edition” for the 500 college students working the Super Bowl. Not only did we get to hear from panelists and a keynote speaker, we also got to interact with other college students from all over the country who share the same passion for sports.?
- Sunday 2/11 was Gameday!! The crew went to Orleans Arena to assist with the check in process for over 8,000 teammates heading to Allegiant Stadium. I was personally responsible for directing the flow of traffic and preventing line backups to get teammates in and out as timely and efficiently as possible.?
I am extremely lucky to have the experiences that I did over the span of a week. Not every student gets the chance to work the Super Bowl preweek and assist on gameday. I made sure to soak in as much as possible from every professional I met and truly take advantage of the experience. Here are three pieces of advice that I took from this Super Bowl experience and that I will continue to use throughout my professional journey and encourage other students to do:?
- Take every opportunity you possibly can, even if it isn’t paid! Every opportunity presented to you is a chance to build your resume, network with professionals in the sport industry, and leave a good impression on future employers.?Connect with your local clubs or organizations to be informed on upcoming opportunities, and if you don't already, follow Sports Biz Careers because they're constantly sharing ways for students to get involved.
- Always put your all into every task, no matter what it is. Sometimes we will be given assignments or responsibilities that we aren’t fond of, doing your absolute best at those times is imperative to the quality of your work and build a good reputation.?
- Don’t be afraid to move out of your comfort zone! Networking can be scary if you let it, but it is a great chance to meet new people and build connections to help you in the future.?Think of it as building friends and you're in a great position to ask questions about what they do and how they got there! This industry is filled with people who want to help :)
Lastly, I'm so thankful for Queen's University for this unique opportunity and the new friends I made along the way! If you're a student who might not have resources like me, I recommend checking out Sports Biz Careers, as they've helped expand my network and assisted my journey into sports!
