“It is amazing to be able to work with an iconic hockey team like the Pittsburgh Penguins! I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to continue growing and improving my public relations skills and am experiencing moments that are helping me see a career in hockey communications in my future.” – Jailene Bernal (ex. BS 2025)
Sport and writing have been important to University of Iowa Sport and Recreation Management (UISRM) major Jailene Bernal for as long as she can remember. She grew up as a swimmer in Florida and flourished as a creative writer in high school. Both longtime passions have been integral building blocks in a series of experiences that have served as a foundation for Jailene’s success as a first-generation college student who currently is one of three media relations interns for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The journey to assisting with NHL game note preparation and news conferences as a UISRM student this fall has not been one Jailene could have predicted. She initially pursued a degree in film elsewhere, yet some appealing admissions materials from Iowa led her to the Hawkeye State in 2018. The self-awareness she was developing helped her realize how well she learned through exploration, and she discovered that her community college coursework was contributing to her growth as a young adult. Upon earning an associate’s degree in 2021, Jailene was hired full time as a receptionist at Iowa City West High School and identified the district as a setting in which she could make a variety of contributions. Away from her employment, she became increasingly fascinated with hockey.
With the counsel and backing of colleagues at Iowa City West, Jailene took on an assistant swim coach role at the school and enrolled in two UISRM courses in August 2023. She regularly applied information from her Communications and Public Relations in Sports class to her coaching duties, where she was interacting with athletes, parents, and the media. The insightful topics in Sport and Recreation Promotion, along with a format that emphasized collaboration, also aligned with team needs. Still, even with the satisfaction that accompanied meshing her swimming knowledge and writing skills, the idea of working in hockey came to the forefront.
At the 2023 UISRM Symposium, Jailene spoke with program advisory board member Stephanie Rogers, who at the time was employed by the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights. That connection has become a source of career guidance for Jailene that has blossomed from a distance, while on-campus conversations with UISRM faculty member and former Chicago Blackhawks vice president Adam Kempenaar have been impactful, as well. Adam arranged job shadowing with the Florida Panthers public relations department for Jailene, and she secured a chance to take on communications and media relations responsibilities with the Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) for independent field experience credit during the spring semester of 2024.
The hours spent in press row at Xtream Arena writing game recaps with David Fine of the Heartlanders have yielded tremendous benefits. David’s investment in teaching Jailene practical communications strategies and care for her real-world learning have been vital in adapting her creative writing strengths to a style appropriate for sports writing. The increased confidence in her sharpened skills inspired Jailene to search for hockey communications job postings on TeamWork Online and apply for an opening with the Pittsburgh Penguins listed over the summer. She credits David and the Heartlanders organization for training her for the game day tasks she now performs in Pittsburgh and knows that her abilities to navigate an atmosphere filled with NHL athletes, coaches, executives, and journalists were nurtured around a hockey rink in Coralville.
Jailene originally set out for Iowa in search of opportunities that would reveal her talents, and she will return from Pennsylvania early next year with an even greater appreciation for the support of her NHL dreams offered by colleagues, instructors, mentors, and peers. Whether it be the encouragement of a UI women’s ice hockey club teammate or the advice of a UISRM alumnus in Pittsburgh, Jailene has found a community that has fostered her success as a student at the University of Iowa.