NRHS grad gets Super opportunity
Published 8:41 pm Saturday, January 31, 2015
Ordinarily, 20-year-old Kayla Godfrey of Suffolk would be home from college this evening, gathering around the television with her family to watch the Super Bowl.
But not this year. This year, she is in Arizona, working at the Super Bowl.
“I think the experience in and of itself is just amazing,” Godfrey said.
The daughter of James and Stephanie Godfrey is part of a team from the University of Tennessee, where she attends, that will be working behind the scenes at Super Bowl XLIX, helping facilitate activities before and during the big game.
As of Saturday morning, Godfrey said she was not exactly sure what she would be doing Sunday afternoon but was excited by the possibilities.
She has heard stories from members of previous UT teams that chronicled duties like directing Peyton and Eli Manning’s father, Archie Manning, to his seat or being stationed behind the scenes with featured halftime performer Beyoncé.
Godfrey got the opportunity to go to Arizona because the University of Tennessee has provided a team of students to work at the Super Bowl for the last eight years.
The trip is intended to provide valuable experience for the students by helping them learn about all aspects of business from one of the world’s largest one-day sporting events.
One of the team’s leaders is Debbie Mackey, a senior lecturer and director of the Human Resource Management master’s program at the University of Tennessee.
Godfrey recalled that Mackey sent out an email to her class, asking if anyone was interested in applying to be part of the latest team. She was looking for students that were enthusiastic about sports and wanted to see more of the business side of them.
Of the 25 to 30 people that applied, Mackey picked 12, “and I was lucky enough to be one of them,” Godfrey said.
She fit the description of what her professor was looking for. Currently in her junior year, Godfrey is studying sports management, with a minor in cinema studies.
“I love football,” Godfrey said. “I’m rooting for the Seahawks. We’ll see how that goes.”
She said she has a desire to one day possibly create Super Bowl commercials or contribute to the ESPN Films documentary series known as ESPN 30 for 30.
“I like the behind the scenes more than in front of the camera,” she said, wanting to work with athletes in that capacity.
She has gotten to see several retired NFL players in Arizona, like LaDainian Tomlinson and Willie McGinest, before and during their broadcast for the NFL Network.
Godfrey and the UT team have been afforded quite an array of opportunities already, and not just limited to football.
On Wednesday, they took in some of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, a PGA Tour event in Scottsdale, Ariz., and got to meet with one of the players, Cameron Tringale.
On Thursday, Godfrey and the team visited Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and got to pick the brain of Graham Rossini, vice president for special projects and fan experience.
“We got to go on the field, which is really awesome,” Godfrey said.
Basketball became the focus for the UT team for part of Friday when it toured the US Airways Center, where the Phoenix Suns, play and met with former Suns player Alvan Adams, who is now the vice president for facility management for the arena.
Godfrey said she was inspired by Adams’ enthusiasm about his job.
“I’m really hoping to do the video side, but I feel like there’s plenty of opportunities in sports,” she said.
With regard to this afternoon, amidst her responsibilities inside University of Phoenix Stadium, she said, “I hope we get some kind of sight of the field.”
But even if she does not, she knows the trip was a valuable one.
“I feel like this is getting my foot in the door for my future,” she said.