Pizza With the Pros welcomed back one of its alumni on Oct. 20 to speak to students in King Auditorium. Emily Caniglia, director of PR/communications and membership engagement at NFL Alumni, returned to Rowan to highlight her short yet impactful career, including the internship that got her started.
During her senior year at Rowan University, Caniglia first worked with the NFL Alumni Association as a public relations intern. After a brief time away from the organization, she returned and quickly rose to the top of the communications chain. In her current position, Caniglia says she works on the weekly newsletters that are sent to former players, cheerleaders, and front office staff. She is also heavily involved in the organization’s social media, where she credits senior Robert Obdyke with assisting her.
Another part of her job entails membership engagement, meaning that sometimes, former players will just call to chat and stay updated on what is currently happening in the league. In this role, Caniglia also monitors the 35 different chapters across the country, the largest one being in Texas, since many of the retired players now live there.
“NFL Alumni is a nonprofit organization, so our mission is caring for our own, caring for our community, and caring for our kids,” Caniglia said. “A lot of our chapter events are charity events.”
Caniglia mentioned a recent bowling event in Dallas that featured former players. At these events, people or corporations will pay to play with the alumni. She also said that sometimes they will invite alumni from other chapters to get a larger appeal for the event.
“We have our annual chapter meeting once a year, where all the chapters get together, and it’s really nice to see everyone from all the chapters,” Caniglia said.
Although Caniglia and her team frequently speak to the alumni from the different chapters over the phone, she said it was nice to finally meet with them. After five years into her career, Caniglia is often starstruck by many of the former players she works with and gets to meet. However, she was also starstruck by Fox reporter Erin Andrews.
“Being a woman in sports and seeing her on the sidelines, she honestly took my breath away,” Caniglia said.
She also added how incredible it was to see how many more women are becoming involved in the sports industry, compared to the number she saw when she entered it four years ago.
Caniglia continued by explaining the surreal feeling of also being on the sidelines with people she grew up watching, such as Andrews and Eagles players, while she was covering their Hall of Fame induction. As a passionate sports fan growing up, Caniglia said she couldn’t see herself in a different industry.
“I really wanted to go into sports. I realized early in my college career that I wanted to do PR, but I wasn’t super set on sports,” Caniglia said. “I knew it was really competitive, but once I got to Rowan and saw all of the opportunities, I was excited to take it on.”
Caniglia credited the sports communication and media program and the other advantages students have, including going to the Super Bowl. As she closed out her conversation with students, Caniglia offered them a piece of advice that would help them succeed throughout their careers.
“Dress for the job you want, not the job you have,” Caniglia said.
Caniglia reminded students that it was important to stand out, even if you are just an intern. Someone is always watching, and you want to try your best to impress them.
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