Former student of the School of Communication, Media, and the Arts (SCMA), earned a Super Bowl Ring with the Kansas City Chiefs last month. Shannon Szefinski, former Spectrum managing editor, was a part of SCMA as a Graduate Assistant and is now the Live and Gameday Seasonal Production Assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Szefinski’s road to success started here at SHU as a part of SCMA. As a Graduate Assistant for SCMA, she learned how to be a leader and gain confidence within herself.
“I attribute everything I’ve been able to accomplish to SCMA and the professors that make the program what it is,” said Szefinski.
“From editing to the control room to learning how to communicate with others, every lesson you learn at school is important and will only help you become a more well-rounded professional.”
Szefinski spent the entire season with the Chiefs organization leading up to this moment and didn’t catch much of a break with all the time she put into her job.
Contributed by Shannon Szefinski, BA ’21, MA ’23
“Every person plays a role in the success of our team and no person goes unnoticed by ownership,” said Szefinski. “Everyone had to put in long hours and take ideas to new levels to be able to reach this point.”
Other SCMA peers that Szefinski has worked with in the past for SCMA give her a lot of credit and are proud for what she is accomplishing.
Jared McCabe, a graduate assistant for SCMA, who previously worked with Szefinski, said, “The energy she brought every day you wouldn’t even know if she was having a bad day, she always had a smile on her face and was always so willing to help me with any questions I had.”
When it comes to SCMA. Szefinski contributed a lot to help the program become what it is today.
“She basically built this program. We’ve had a lot of great graduate assistants come through here, but she is easily the best graduate assistant they’ve had, and you can ask any of the professors,” said McCabe.
Aaron Such, assistant director of production for SCMA, says s
“I think there are only a couple of students whose presence reigns after their time here at SHU,” said Such. “She impacted so many students that she has not only contributed to her own success, but also the success of many others.”
Senior Molly Jacob has also worked with Szefinski.
“Shannon is such a hard worker and that’s something that I’ve always learned from her because she’s always working long hours,” said Jacob. “She’s extremely helpful and taught me a lot in our program, she’s very career-driven and that’s something that makes her stand out.”
Szefinski said she uses her ring as a symbol of all the amazing things she was able to accomplish and the challenges she had to overcome this season.
“The biggest piece of advice I could give to someone is to be passionate and be ambitious,” said Szefinski. “Love what you do and take pride in what you do.”
