UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For people in almost any industry, achieving Super Bowl-level success means something, a testament to accomplishment.
People understand the analogy because the season-ending professional football game, which will be played Feb. 3 in Atlanta, represents excellence, in the form of those competing on the field, and serves as part national holiday, part societal touchstone, with hundreds of millions of people watching the game and its commercials.
So, getting to the Super Bowl in any industry matters — and getting to the Super Bowl itself really matters.
Two Penn State students earned that opportunity this year.
Ashanti Rubin and Rachel Tasker, seniors in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, were selected to serve as NFL public relations assistants at the Super Bowl. They begin their duties in Atlanta on Jan. 28 and will return to campus Feb. 4.
Throughout the week they will assist the league, which deals with hundreds of national and international media members and numerous special events.
Rubin, a media studies major from Manalapan, New Jersey, complements her classroom efforts by working for the Penn State football program and for Learfield Sports. She is working on a sociology minor and has served as a teaching assistant for a popular sociology class. She is a member of the Penn State Sports Business Club, serving as the team liaison and working on the sponsorship team.
Tasker, from Corry, Pennsylvania, is completing double majors — one in advertising/public relations and the other in political science — and has two minors (business, and Spanish and international studies). This semester, she’s serving as vice president of events for the Penn State Sports Business Conference and she has completed numerous internships, including with the Bellisario College Office of Alumni Relations, Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics, and UPMC Health Plan. She studied abroad in Spain and completed a professional co-op in Washington, D.C. She’s also a Penn State Lion Ambassador.
Penn State students have been selected for NFL Super Bowl opportunities annually for almost a decade. Counting Rubin and Tasker, 11 students have been selected for the highly competitive opportunity in the past three years. For those who participate, the experience and networking often lead to sports-related careers.