These Penn State students will play a role in the Super Bowl
Penn State senior Jill Beckman hails from a land about 30-minutes shy of Philadelphia Eagles country. When friends and family found out that she would traveling to this year’s Super Bowl in Minneapolis, they were ecstatic.
She was pretty happy about it, too — although her reasoning might transcend local pride.
Beckman and four cohorts from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications have spent the last week pumping up their resumes as interns for the NFL’s communications department.
It’s an example of our alumni really creating opportunities for our students.
Michael Poorman
This is the eighth consecutive year that Penn State students have been invited to make the trip, a streak that owes a little something to Michael Signora, the NFL’s vice president of football communications and a card carrying Nittany Lion.
“It’s an example of our alumni really creating opportunities for our students,” said Michael Poorman, director of alumni relations for the College of Communications.
He thinks the Super Bowl experience will help the students broaden their exposure and skill sets as they prepare to enter the job market.
Beckman has been covering sports for The Daily Collegian since her sophomore year at Penn State. She’s also interned at the Reading Eagle and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
I honestly never thought that working a Super Bowl would be a possibility in my career.
Brandon Pelter
Reporting is familiar territory, but the Super Bowl is giving Beckman a window into the realm of media relations that could prove useful when it comes time make decisions after graduation.
“I’m also meeting a ton of people and hope to stay in touch with them after this experience,” Beckman said.
She was joined for the week by Penn State junior Brandon Pelter and seniors Marty Kassalen, Kaitlin Kemmerer and Alex Sheinman.
Pelter said that none of them are sure what duties they’ll be tasked with during Sunday’s game. He spent Tuesday helping to check visitors into the media center at the Mall of America.
After school he’d like to build to a career as on-air talent but is relishing the opportunity to explore other aspects of the industry.
“I honestly never thought that working a Super Bowl would be a possibility in my career,” Pelter said.
Frank Ready: 814-231-4620, @fjready
This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 12:54 PM with the headline "These Penn State students will play a role in the Super Bowl."