COM Student Scores Big by Making Super Bowl Dreams Come True

After visiting the CSUDH Career Center in 2013 to determine if becoming a Communication major in the journalism option was the right decision, their personality test indicated I would be better suited for getting a degree in business, not Communications. Despite their advice, I chose to give being a Communications major a try and focus on a possible future in journalism. It turns out I made the right call.

Here I am now, 22, graduating from CSUDH with a bachelor’s degree in Communications, and I got to cover Super Bowl LI earlier this year in Houston, Texas, as a member of the sports media.

If somebody told me 10 years ago I would be attending the Super Bowl between the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots, I would never have believed it.

Sports have been a passion of mine since the age of 4 and, though I once had dreams of becoming a NFL player, I have come to realize that my purpose in life is to become a sports journalist.

I started interning for ProPlayerInsiders.com, an official partner of the NFL, in September 2016, where I was assigned to do game previews and recaps every week.

It was a thrilling experience and great seeing my name published. Eventually, the CEO of the website, Melissa Mahler, invited me to cover the Super Bowl and it was an opportunity of a lifetime I could not pass up.

Throughout the week, I was assigned to cover the Atlanta Falcons along with other NFL events. My days would start around 6 a.m. to get ready, head to where the Falcons media availability day was located, write my articles, attend a press conference for the NFL, write another article, edit, then head back to my hotel around midnight. I did the same thing for five consecutive days and it was the greatest time I ever had.

At the Falcons’ press conference, I was able to ask certain players on the team questions for the story I needed to complete that day. Being only a few feet away from the players I watch on television every Sunday was surreal. As important, I had the opportunity to see well-trained journalists operate in that kind of environment.

I was also assigned to cover smaller events like the NFLPA Smocks and Jocks: Painting with the Pros, which consisted of current and former NFL players visiting a high school in Houston and painting with students.

In every situation, I used the skills my professors in the Communications Department taught me. Their strict rule of using AP Style writing made writing simpler and the interviewing techniques helped me get the right quotes needed for my articles. It was great to finally use what I was taught in the classroom being put into action.

I was also one of the youngest and among only a few black people representing the media but I did get an up-close lesson on how reporters I looked up to work. As an aspiring journalist, I was full of questions for the other accomplished journalists there and whenever I had the chance, I tried to get as much information on what it takes to make it in the sports journalism business. The people I met and the professional advice given to me will be cherished forever.

The Super Bowl LI experience was a dream come true. Everything about the week was phenomenal, even only sleeping five hours a night. I now know I have a lot of work to complete before becoming an accomplished journalist but covering such big sporting events as the Super Bowl lets me know I am at least on the right path.