TIFFIN, Ohio — The NFL Draft is happening at the end of the month in Detroit and many local college students have the opportunity to get some real-world experience by helping the huge event run smoothly.
Bonnie Tiell, a professor of management at Tiffin University, said through a partnership with Allied Universal Security Services, students at the university will have the opportunity to volunteer at the 2024 NFL Draft.
Some students were shocked to hear that they will be volunteering.
"'Wait, say that again. Let me read that email again, it's not spam. So this is for real? This is the real deal?'" TU graduate assistant Stephanie Lewis said.
75 to 100 TU volunteers will be on hand to help with security, hospitality, crowd management and assisting the media.
"This is a great resume builder for our students," Tiell said. "It's a great touch point for Tiffin University for our alumni to stay connected with us with something that is really an exciting event."
A core group of 12 sports management students will have to chance to escort the selected players to the main stage.
"Primarily this group will be working in the theater, in the green room, escorting the NFL Draft picks and working the red carpet and a number of areas," Tiell said.
And others are invited to sign up. Tiell said anyone with a connection to TU can register.
Along with the real world experience, these students are also excited to network for future careers and represent their small college to the world.
"It gets your name out there. It gets other individuals who hear of Tiffin, we're not just a small little area anymore, we're really going places," Lewis said. "And it's a big reflection on university in total."
"See what it's like in real time, and that's probably the busiest they're going to be throughout the year," Riley Keller, a sports management major said. "So I just see it as an opportunity to see how everything works and have a great experience being at the NFL Draft."
Tiell said anyone who is not an active TU student who wants to volunteer for the NFL Draft needs to have some connection to TU and have their name placed in the pool by Friday when Tiell will finalize her list of volunteers heading up north.