Before and after the NFL Draft portion, the breakout sessions were focused on communications, marketing and sales and gameday experience.

One of the guest speakers for communications was former General Manager Kevin Colbert, who shared with the students that his career started in sports information at Robert Morris College.

Colbert encouraged the students to take advantage of any opportunity they can, even if it isn’t what they think their path will be.

“I was a sports information director,” said Colbert. “I didn’t want to do that coming out of college. I had some connections in the personnel world, but that was my only open door at that moment. So, take any door that’s open and walk into it. And as you’re doing the job that you’re hired to do, don’t be afraid to meet other people in other departments so that you can take care of your work, but also say, I’m interested in player personnel, can maybe I stop by and visit when I’m done with my work.

“Don’t be afraid to do something that’s not your ultimate goal. But if it gets you in that door, you never know who you’re going to meet as you try to progress in your careers.”

The summit included students from 160 schools, 40 states and three countries, including Brazil, Canada and New Zealand.

“We wanted to give more college students the behind the scenes look at what it’s like to work for the Steelers,” said Nicole Bauer, the Steelers growth and outlook marketing manager. “We want them to walk away with the understanding of all of the different career paths available, whether it’s, marketing, communication, something with gameday and feel inspired to pursue that.

“On the other side of things, it is creating that talent pipeline of upcoming professionals. You are now connecting them to people and opportunities to help them move forward in their career.”

The addition of marketing and sales and gameday experience flowed from the Steelers desire to connect more with the college audience, something they have done the last few years through the Student Rush program.

“The last several years, we’ve made great strides with connecting with college students through the Student Rush program and campus activations,” said Bauer. “We want to position ourselves as a resource in their lives. We also want them to know we are paying attention to them. They are important. They are going to be filling our stadiums in the next couple of decades. We want to be a resource for them.”