Job of a lifetime
Local woman enjoys working as Steelers’ media relations assistant LATROBE – For one Fayette County native, working with the Pittsburgh Steelers is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Emily Scerba of New Salem, who is entering her third full season working as a media relations assistant with the Steelers, said that she has enjoyed every day at her job.
“It’s been great working for the Rooney family,” she said. “The organization is just amazing. You really do feel like everyone you work with is part of your family.”
During training camp, Scerba makes sure that the players call in for their radio interviews and lets them know when they have interviews coming up. She works with the national networks that come to training camp to take photographs of players and she schedules their sit-down interviews. She also works on game-day programs that are distributed to fans at every home game.
“We try to get the information that we need from the players here at camp when we are around the guys a lot,” she said. “That way we can have it all ready to go into the programs for the season.”
Scerba also prepares the media passes for the Steelers home games and distributes them to the members of the press during training camp.
“I am up here to help out with everything that they need help with,” she said. “I never turn anything down if anyone needs me to do something. It’s kind of a team effort up here.”
While she was working on her master’s degree at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Scerba landed an internship in the marketing department of the Steelers.
“When I moved to the city to get my master’s, my one goal was to work for the Steelers,” she said. “I thought it would be so cool to work for them.”
Scerba was working part time in the corporate offices of American Eagle Outfitters based in Pittsburgh when she got the call that she had been waiting for.
“While working for American Eagle corporate, the Steelers called me and I found out that there was a job opening,” she said. “It was kind of being in the right place at the right time because a job with the Steelers doesn’t come around very often. I was very lucky and it has been great so far.”
Scerba acknowledged that while working for the Steelers is mostly very enjoyable, it can be a stressful job.
“During the season, we have a lot of deadlines that we have to meet and so much stuff that we have to get done before the games,” she said. “Short turnarounds, like a Sunday night game followed by a Thursday night game, are tough. When you don’t get a full week to prepare, it is really tough to turn things around, but it’s still a lot of fun.”
Living in a metropolitan area can get a little hectic at times and Scerba said that she enjoys when she gets to make a trip back home to New Salem to visit with her mother, Janet.
“Whenever I do get to go back home, I enjoy it being so quiet,” she said. “It always feels great to take a trip back home.”
Scerba has developed some great relationships with the people who she works with and said that she wouldn’t trade her job for anything.
“The connection that you make with everyone in the organization has been amazing and the South Side (training) facility starts to feel like your home,” she said. “I have made a lot of friendships here that will last a lifetime.”