Jaci John: Production Assistant at NFL Films
Jaci John is a 2017 graduate from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln with degrees in broadcasting and Spanish. Currently, she is a production assistant at NFL Films.
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The sports media and communication major is just one year old and obviously John did not study sports media and communication. We are classifying her under this major because she is working a sports media and communication job and likely would have majored in sports media and communication.
John now lives in Mount Laurel, New Jersey and works at NFL Films headquarters. She works on NFL Films’ biggest projects, including, HBO’s Hard Knocks, Showtime’s, Inside the NFL and Amazon’s All or Nothing.
John developed her love of video production in high school and decided she wanted to work in that field. She began searching for the perfect school. Her mother and uncle attended UNL and they left the thought of UNL in the back of John’s mind.
She decided to check out Nebraska; it was the perfect fit. John said she chose Nebraska because of the great broadcasting program at CoJMC and the opportunities provided to students. John explains why the CoJMC was so great for her below.
John said one of the most valuable lessons she learned in college was learning from the people around her. In college, she took advantage of the CoJMC faculty. The same theory applies in the working world. She now uses her Emmy-nominated producers.
John took every opportunity she could while at CoJMC. She gained her most valuable experience with HuskerVision, the media arm of the athletic department. She worked for HuskerVision three of her four years at college.
She mainly shot and edited film for HuskerVision, which gave her plenty of material to assemble a portfolio. John was ambitious enough to obtain internships with the Indiana Pacers each summer in between school years. With the Pacers, she also worked with video and gained experience working with social media.
John wouldn’t trade any of her working opportunities for the world. She was fortunate enough to travel with the Nebraska volleyball team on their national championship run in the 2016 season. She said it was one of her favorite college memories.
All of these experiences obtained while attending the CoJMC solidified her love for video production. She explains what she loves about video production below.
She was able to obtain an internship with NFL Films using her previous work from HuskerVision and work with the Pacers. The internship led to a job.
She got her foot in the door with NFL Films as an intern. She took the internship as first gig after graduation from UNL. She left a good impression on her coworkers as an intern and obtained the full-time position. John left CoJMC and UNL pursuing a career in video production in the world of sports and right out of college she is working her dream job. She explains why she loves her job below.
John is one of many CoJMC alumni who have their dream job. She may have gotten their sooner than others, but she's got it. The real-world experience and learning opportunities all CoJMC students offered cannot be matched.