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Emily Maslanka, a senior sports administration major at Kent State, and several of her peers had the memorable opportunity to work one of the most premier events in major league sports - the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City, Missouri, April 27-29, 2023. 

Maslanka worked long hours with mobility assistance, where she learned the mechanics of helping guests who needed wheelchair assistance and softer skills such as how to make them feel comfortable. 

“I decided to work at the NFL Draft because I saw it as a good opportunity to build my resume, to network with people who were participating in the draft, and to build my LinkedIn to be able to see what others were continuing after the Draft,” said Maslanka, from Wadsworth, Ohio. “I thought it would be really fun as well to see the draft up close and personal and to make more friends who go to 5X����.” 

Maslanka was among 34 Kent State students who traveled to Kansas City late last month (April 2023) to work the NFL draft through a partnership arranged by Mark Lyberger, associate professor in Kent State’s Sports Administration program in the School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration in the College of Education, Health and Human Services.  

This was the third year Lyberger arranged for Kent State students to work the draft, with more than 275 students working the event when it was in Cleveland in 2021 and more than 30 traveling to the draft in Las Vegas in 2022. 

“The students worked the draft when it was in Cleveland in a variety of capacities,” Lyberger said. They worked with the NFL, the Sports Commission, the Browns, and a variety of different subcontractors that were affiliated with the event. Some of the positions were paid and some of them were volunteer positions. It was then when I made a few contacts and relationships with people.”  

Lyberger followed up with his contacts from the Cleveland draft and received an invitation to the Las Vegas draft, connecting with the contractor SP Plus. From there, Lyberger and his students were invited to the Kansas City event and now they have already been invited to work the NFL draft in Detroit next year. 

“We received a call and an email (after the Kansas City draft) from SP Plus and a call from the NFL complimenting how good of a job the students did in terms of overall performance,” Lyberger said. 

To participate in the trip, Lyberger required that students had to put up some equity to prove their dedication. 

“We have them provide their own transportation and then we organized everything out there,” Lyberger said. “We assisted with the lodging and some of their meals. They get per diem to pay for expenses.” 

Naijee Jones, a Kent State graduate student, had the opportunity to put his sports administration knowledge to work at the NFL draft in Kansas City. 

The Camden, New Jersey, native, who looks forward to graduating May 11, 2023, worked long hours assisting the NFL with mobility transportation around the site of the draft. As Jones performed his duties, he gained an unexpected bonus. 

“I was fortunate enough to transport fans and draftees’ families around the venue,” Jones said. “I had the ability to foster relationships with individuals from all over the country and appreciate their various skill sets. My biggest takeaway was recognizing how many external resources were needed to achieve an event of this magnitude. It was truly an eye-opening event that anyone with an interest in the sports industry should attend.” 

Working the NFL Draft is about so much more than the event itself. Lyberger is working to provide mentorship for the students and build a pipeline that runs from Kent State to the job market. 

“If I work with the EHHS (the College of Education, Health and Human Services) representative ... I think we’ll be able to begin to build the structure for the mentorship piece to be successful,” he said.