Kutztown Graduate Discovers Career Path with Super Bowl Champions

In her youth, Melissa Higgins (Kelly) ’14 got her kicks from making music videos with her childhood friends. As she grew older, Higgins drifted away from her filmmaking dreams, until a nudge from her mother reignited her passion in college.

That rekindled spark led her from lip-synching over green screens to becoming a key player in content creation for this year’s Super Bowl Champions, thanks in part to Kutztown University’s Cinema, Television and Media Production (CTM) major.

When Higgins became a Golden Bear, she made the most of every opportunity. She started as a camera operator in live and pre-recorded settings, contributing to productions such as Kutztown’s Newsbreak.

When she wasn’t behind the camera, she explored production and directing roles on various projects. Higgins was also able to develop her leadership skills through the CTM department, culminating in her election as president of the KU Film Club.

Beyond her time in the studio, a film major requirement pushed Higgins to new heights: an industry internship. In her case, she landed a position at what was then the Wells Fargo Center (soon to be renamed the Xfinity Mobile Arena), assisting with live production and lighting for the Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers. Shortly after her internship ended, the Philadelphia Eagles swooped in and offered to take Higgins under their wing.

“Without that internship, there’s no chance I would be with the Eagles now,” she said.

From there, Higgins rose through the ranks from being an intern to now being the Studio Production Manager. She works on a range of content, but specializes in live production environments like press conferences.

In this setting, Higgins is largely responsible for setup, coordinating with audio engineers, and broadcasting footage. However, she notes that her team’s strategy is shifting more of their focus onto content production for social media, including player/coach Q&As and personality pieces.

And it’s only natural that Higgins and her team kick into high gear whenever the birds are in the running for a Super Bowl title.

In the week leading up to this year’s Super Bowl, Higgins’ team split into two: half traveled to New Orleans to capture footage while the other half stayed in Philadelphia to handle editing. During this time, Higgins stayed in Philadelphia to supervise livestreams and edit incoming content from the crew in New Orleans. On a surface level it might not seem too different from how things were before, but with rapid-fire press conferences on top of the general Super Bowl craze, it’s clear that covering the Super Bowl is not for the faint of heart. Still, she embraces what she calls “the best kind of chaos.”

The birds soared on Super Bowl Sunday this year, taking down the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 and making Higgins’s work (and all the subsequent “chaos”) well worth the effort. Although she flies with the Eagles now, it is undeniable that her time as a Golden Bear laid a strong foundation for her success today.

By Pearson Uelses '27