The NFL Events and Club Business Development and Football Operations Department has partnered with FAMU once again and selected four students to participate in this year’s program.
The program, which serves as both mentorship and development, began in September and runs through the end of the NFL season. Each year the NFL chooses students from different athletic conferences. Through learning and shadowing experiences, the program introduces students to career paths in sports and event production.
According to Sports Illustrated, the program also serves as just one of the initiatives from the NFL’s second annual NFL + HBCU Open House programming.
Although the program has started a little late this year due to COVID, the students have already received the information on the projects they will be working on.
Tatiana Barnes, a second-year business administration major, says she’s excited but also extremely nervous for the seed kitch project, which she refers to as an extensive case study.
“We were given a lot of information, so my mind instantly thought of it as a case study. It’s more like creating an idea to heighten the fans’ experience of the NFL,” Barnes said.
Barnes, who learned about the program through her mentor, is also an assistant intramural coordinator with campus recreation. She plans to use this experienceship to help expand her knowledge in the sports industry and hopefully connect with a community relations and events position in the NBA.
Alongside Barnes, a fellow classmate and SJGC student, Malik Burgess is also a participant in this year’s experienceship. Burgess, a third-year journalism major, found out about the program through a different connection.
While going through his emails, Burgess discovered an email from FAMU’s Career and Development Center with an application for the NFL experienceship. He decided to apply.
Burgess is excited to connect with people in this field and gain professional experience in an industry where he might want to start his career. He also is excited to learn more about reporting and what goes on behind the scenes in the NFL.
“I really don’t what to expect but I’m looking forward to getting that experience of behind the scenes of games and events and seeing what the fans don’t,” Burgess said. “They also told us there would be a possibility of bringing us to different cities and states to possibly shadow events so hopefully we get to do that,” he said.
Burgess and Barnes have not met the other two FAMU participants yet but said they are excited to start working on their projects with other students from other schools.
To find out more information regarding the NFL experienceship visit https://operations.nfl.com/