Designed for Action: Senior Sport Media Major Completes Internship with Philadelphia Eagles

At York College of Pennsylvania, students aren’t just reading textbooks and listening to lectures. They’re working on community projects, solving real-world problems, and using their education to effect change. In Designed for Action, we meet the students who are making an impact outside of the classroom.

Recently, Ashley Hudak ’23 got to put her York College education to the test during an internship with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The senior Sport Media major, who is from Schwenksville, PA, spent her summer working Monday through Friday, and occasionally weekends, at Lincoln Financial Field Stadium in Philadelphia. She needed an internship for credit to complete requirements for her major, so she started looking on TeamWork Online, a website dedicated to helping those interested in the sports industry find internships and job opportunities.

 “I was looking on there and I saw a position with the Philadelphia Eagles. It was relatively local to me—about an hour away for a commute,” Ashley says. She applied, went through the interview process, and was hired for the summer.

Real-world experience

During her internship, Ashley worked as a ticket and fan service intern. She was employed in the Eagles’ call center, fielding phone calls from customers and stakeholders.

“I would answer calls from people who were fans to people who had season tickets. And they would call in and ask questions,” she explains. “I would make sure payments were coming in for those people who were season ticket members, too, so they had their seats and their license for the year.”

She also worked alongside different departments, including Merchandise and Financial Aid. Her biggest takeaway, Ashley says, was the equal treatment she received alongside her coworkers.

“I felt like I was an employee. I was full-time,” she says. “It didn't matter if my boss or her boss above me was talking to me, everybody was treated the same.”

Additionally, she assisted in events the Eagles hosted, such as various concerts for artists including The Weeknd, Kenny Chesney, and Coldplay, the Eagles Autism Awareness Challenge, and helping a local elementary school by painting murals on the walls.

“You won't get real-life experience like that anywhere else,” she says.

Putting education into perspective

Ashley believes that her YCP education effectively prepared her for the internship. Her Communications and Public Speaking classes helped her sharpen her communications skills and professionalism, aspects crucial to her work answering phone calls.

“I was in the call center, so I needed to communicate professionally, but I also received phone calls from people who were angry,” she says. “They're loyal fans and whatever their concerns are, you still address them like you address anyone else.”

Additionally, her Facility Event Management class helped her understand how the off-season in football works, and how to prepare for events being hosted in the Stadium during the rest of the year.

“Over the summer, obviously, football games aren't happening, so we had to think about how we could still use the space to generate revenue,” Ashley says. “It’s a matter of looking at the plan and seeing where the stage is going to be set up, how many people we were going to have—did we need to set up chairs? How do we set things up? Does there need to be ADA seating? I think that class did a good job of really putting it into perspective.”

Opening industry doors

In the future, Ashley wants to work for social media within the sports industry. Her preferred sports area would be basketball, as she has more knowledge of the sport, but she considers her internship with the Eagles a stepping stone for her career.

“It's a foot in the door,” she says.

For now, she’s taking a step back and watching the growth of women in the sports industry, something that inspires her.

“Working for the Eagles this summer, there were so many people employed there who were women, too, so it shows that it is a growing industry for women, and it’s inspiring.”