NIAGARA FALLS —
A group of students from Niagara University’s College of Hospitality and Tourism Management will get a first-hand look at how to organize one of the world’s top sporting events.
Eleven NU students traveled to Dallas, the site of Super Bowl XLV, to volunteer at a series of events associated with the National Football League’s premiere event.
The students, who will spend eight days in North Texas will host a media party, work at the NFL Experience — the league’s interactive theme park — and greet visitors among several other activities as requested by Super Bowl organizers. On Super Bowl Sunday, the students will be working on location at Cowboys Stadium at a sold-out pre-game VIP party.
“These types of experiential learning trips are of tremendous value to our students,” said Kathryn Finamore, director of experiential opportunities in Niagara’s College of Hospitality and Tourism Management. “They help to augment what the students learn in the classroom and give them a greater understanding of what real, hands-on industry experience is like. In addition, the hospitality, tourism and sport management fields are extremely competitive and trips to major events like the Super Bowl greatly increase the students’ marketability after graduation.”
Students interested in attending the event went through a fairly rigorous process, submitting a resume with cover letter, undergoing an interview process and fundraising to attend the event.
Kelsey Schneider, a 20-year-old sports management major, said Niagara University offers a unique opportunity for students to garner top-notch experience at some of the premiere sporting events across the country.
“I am really excited, this is a once in a lifetime experience,” said Schneider, a junior at Niagara. “It’s still hard to believe I am actually going to be at the Super Bowl.”
Along with the Super Bowl-related activities, the group will also visit Arlington Stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers and American Airlines Center, where the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks play.
Similar trips are offered regularly by the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Later this spring, several sport management students will volunteer during Major League Baseball’s spring training.
Schneider said these types of experiences are what led to her choosing Niagara, opposed to other schools.
“I’d like to work in marketing for a professional sports franchise,” said Schneider. “The Super Bowl is the pinnacle of that and to be able to have this experience and put it on a resume, I will have the advantage over other college graduates.”
Though Schneider admitted she was a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan, she said she’d be rooting for the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
The group did run into a travel snafu. A massive storm that stretched across the bulk of the country forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights and actually shut down the Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport for over an hour Tuesday.
Schneider said their flight, which was scheduled to take off at 8:50 a.m., Tuesday was rescheduled for 3:30 p.m.
The group will return back to Niagara University next Tuesday.
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