Alison Noll had no idea what career path she wanted to take when she was applying for colleges. All she focused on was getting accepted. Her anxieties took a back seat once she got into Penn State, but the focus on finding a major began.

Noll’s mother convinced her that communications might be the career path for her, since she was a great communicator and enjoyed talking to people. Noll was convinced by her mother’s assessment and decided to give it a try when she got to University Park.

During her first semester at Penn State, Noll took COMM 170: Introduction To The Sports Industry. Going into it, Noll never thought about sports as a potential career option. She always thought she would go into traditional public relations, like writing press releases for a firm.

Shannon Furman from NFL Films came as a guest speaker in COMM 170, and Noll said that she “changed her life”. Furman talked about being creative, the way that sports connect with people, and how sports are always a way to connect with others.

Noll began to take advantage of opportunities at Penn State and decided to get involved with THON as a freshman, joining the video production committee. She helped make the recap for THON weekend, as well as other videos throughout the year. Along with that, she began to take on editing projects and made a video for one of Penn State men’s basketball’s THON games.

“That was never my plan, but I took a couple of internships that I didn’t love,” Noll said. “Trying to figure out what I wanted and didn’t want to do, and I think the best way to figure out what you like and what you don’t like is just getting out there and getting experience.”

In her sophomore year, Noll joined the Daily Collegian as a staff member of its video production department. There, she was taught how to edit and covered Penn State sports for two years. She didn’t stop there.

Noll joined the State College Spikes as part of their live video production staff, where she had to run live cameras and the speed of the pitch board during games. She also worked with Penn State Athletics as an intern for two years in video production and then later in strategic communications. In the summer of 2024, she worked for the Little League World Series as a resident intern.

Noll also took opportunities outside of sports. She worked for the College of the Liberal Arts as an engaged scholarship coordinator tasked with promoting and conversing with prospective students. In addition, she became a social media manager for the department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese during her senior year.

As she was getting all these experiences in, Noll worked her way up the THON ranks. Two years after being part of the video production committee, she became a video production development captain for THON 2024. She was in charge of running the production committee with her co-captain. She worked on videos with the rest of the production team, made videos with her committee members, and ran weekly meetings.

After THON 2024, Noll became a video production outreach captain. She got the opportunity to make more THON videos. Not only did she make the promotional and recap videos of THON 2025, but she also did videos focusing on THON families, which allowed her to make the most of her storytelling skills, something she was extremely grateful for.

“That was the most incredible experience and was the biggest part of why I got to where I am today,” Noll said. “At NFL Films, they have a huge emphasis on storytelling, and with THON, I was able to tell incredible stories.”

After she graduated from Penn State in 2025, Noll worked at a catering company and a boutique. Having worked in areas outside of sports and video production, she knew that she had to step out of her comfort zone while she pursued her dream to work in the sports industry. 

Noll worked there through the summer before she landed an internship with the NFL. Despite having to commute almost an hour and a half, she was excited to develop her skills in video editing, short-form storytelling, social media management, and much more.

Noll said her responsibilities vary from day to day. She had to watch a lot of football to help run Inside the NFL on Twitter. She had to post, manage sheets, and edit content every day. Along with that, she had to create meaningful short-form content that tells the story of a different game every week.

Mondays were the day that Noll had to post the most. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, she would post things that didn’t get posted on Monday. She would manage a workflow sheet that NFL Films had, where she could see what and when to post, along with where to find it. On Thursdays and Fridays, she had to post content related to Thursday Night Football and weekly pieces such as NFL Films Presents, Turning Point, or Game Day All Access. Even when Noll was done with her responsibilities, she always wanted to keep helping as much as possible during her free time.

“If I have extra time, I volunteer to label footage for the different shows or projects that are happening,” Noll said. “It’s really calming to just sit, listen to music, and label all the footage. Every day brings something different.”

Halfway through her time at NFL Films, Noll made significant strides in increasing NFL Films’ Facebook engagement. She also received her first show credit for logging for the HBO show “Hard Knocks: In Season”, which featured the NFC East division.

Noll made the most out of her experience at her internship with NFL Films. Along with helping with posting and editing for the show Inside the NFL, she had the opportunity to produce content for Super Bowl LX. She produced a hype video on the Super Bowl and the Seattle Seahawks for the game’s international broadcast.

After the Super Bowl, Noll’s internship ended, but she was thankful for the incredible experience. She always said that her goal was to work in baseball in the near future, and now, because of all her hard work, she will achieve that.

With the MLB season now underway, Noll has an internship with the San Francisco Giants Community Fund, where she will work in fundraising and events. As she prepares for this new chapter, she has given many pieces of advice to anyone who is looking to break through in the highly-competitive sports industry.

“Make sure you’re an incredible communicator. Make sure you can build strong, lasting relationships and never go into a conversation saying, ‘Oh well, I want this connection.’ That’s not the right mindset,” Noll said. “Always learn, build great relationships, and just be nice. Be kind, responsible, respectful, and always keep going.”