Ten Penn State students to work at Super Bowl

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When it comes to a high-profile, real-life opportunity for college students interested in media and the sports business, the Super Bowl might be as good as it gets — and 10 Penn State students plan to make the most of that opportunity this week.

The students, some of whom have been on site since Feb. 5, will work in several different roles.

Four students are working for the NFL itself, assisting as interns with the league’s media relations efforts throughout the week leading up to Super Sunday as well as the game and its aftermath.

Those students are Madison Aponte, Kaitlin Gehlhaus, Megan Harris and Kailey Jackson. They left for Los Angeles Feb. 4. They know their duties will demand long work days and they’re ready.

“We’ll be representing one of the biggest brands in the world, the NFL. That’s a responsibility we take seriously,” Gehlhaus said. “Our plan is to really work hard and prove ourselves, represent Penn State and show who we are.”

Four other students — Victoria Cacciotti, Andre Destin, Preston Shoemaker and Kelly Warner — are working with The Associated Press. The opportunity is another in a series of similar partnerships between the respected worldwide news organization and the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.

“Our students have earned a reputation as a reliable and quality partner in these kinds of situations,” said John Affleck, the Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society and director of the Curley Center. “Admittedly, the Super Bowl is potentially intimidating, but we have a great group of students who are ready to contribute and support the AP.”

That group plans to leave campus Feb. 9 and complement the AP’s coverage efforts, assisting the reporting team on site through the conclusion of the game on Feb. 13.

“However we can help, whatever we can do — it’s a working trip,” Destin said. “Having grown up in California it’s especially exciting for me, and there will be time to reconnect with family and let them meet my friends, but my focus is going there and doing a great job.”

Two more students — Andre Magaro and Jake Starr — have been credentialed and will cover Super Bowl week for CommRadio, the internet-based radio station housed in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.

“It’s just an amazing opportunity,” Starr said. “We’ve been planning it for a while, and we know that once we get there our plans could change depending on who we bump into or what happens on site. Still, we’re ready to make the most of it.”

CommRadio has three hours of live coverage planned Feb. 10 and another two hours Feb. 11. They’ll also conduct a live postgame show on Feb. 13 and plan an active presence on CommRadio’s social media channels.