From the seats at Highmark Stadium to the sidelines

By Grace Heidinger 18 ‚

WhenI walked through the big wooden doors on the first day of my senior year at SEM, I looked at my schedule and noticed I was accidentally enrolled in a journalism class. Even though writing wasn’t my forte at the time, I took advantage of the opportunity that was in front of me – something that SEM always preached.

This opportunity, which opened my eyes to covering sporting events, turned out to be a blessing in disguise. While I didn’t know it at the time, my future career was right in front of me.

Later that same year, I found myself wondering what interested me enough to do my senior capstone project on. But after watching a Pittsburgh Penguins game while writing a story for journalism class one night, I thought to myself, why not base my capstone around women in sports? Little did I know, I would become one a few years later.

In the blink of an eye, everything came full circle during my final semester at Duquesne. I traded in my jersey for a blazer and my tickets for a media credential when I became a staff writer intern for the Penguins. Sitting up in the press box during games and in the post-game press conference room to cover my favorite hockey team was truly a dream come true.

As the internship started to wind down and I officially became a Duquesne graduate in May 2022, I had to figure out what was next. LinkedIn and job application websites soon became my best friends, and the experience I gained in Pittsburgh ultimately prepared me for and led me to my next position: a Media and Content Intern for the Buffalo Bills.

When I got the call that I was offered this role, I was filled with mixed emotions. I didn’t want to leave Pittsburgh and I didn’t know football as well as I knew hockey, but the SEM girl in me pushed me to take the jump and not be afraid to fall. So, I accepted the position and moved back home to Buffalo just three weeks later to cover my hometown team.

48 hours after I made it back to the 716, I packed my bags again and moved to St. John Fisher University in Rochester for Bills Training Camp. The independence and confidence that SEM instilled in me instantly came out the moment I stepped on the football field for the team’s first practice, and later that day, I was tasked with writing my first story on turkey burgers (a camp favorite for Josh Allen) and absorbed the collegelike atmosphere of training camp. Similar to how SEM prepared me for the transition to life in college, the three weeks at training camp prepared me for what to expect when the regular football season rolled around. And when the time came to get acclimated to One Bills Drive, I quickly learned that every day is different when working in sports. However, every week was rather routine in terms of practice coverage leading up to games as well as gameday coverage. “From the Locker Room” was a piece I published after the team’s first practice of each new week and after every game based on the overall emotions of the players. Whether the focus was on the excitement of winning the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams or looking ahead to their upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bengals, my goal was to share a newsworthy story with all of Bills Mafia.

My portfolio of stories has since been filled with post-game reactions, community event articles, player features, and everything in between. But the unexpected stories I told are what made for an unforgettable 2022 Bills season. The emotions of winning or losing were put aside when there were bigger and more meaningful stories to tell.

How a Buffalo snowstorm forced the team to move a home game to Detroit. How a once in a generational blizzard struck Buffalo and affected the entire community. The moment life became more important than the sport when Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered and thankfully recovered from cardiac arrest – a story that caught the attention of the entire country and one that I never imagined writing about.

If it wasn’t for the journalism class I took at SEM, I’m not quite sure I’d be down the path of a career in sports media. And the experience, skills, and qualities that I’ve adapted from my time at 205 Bidwell Parkway and beyond now fill my personal handbook on how to get further down that path. So, take the opportunity, pitch that story idea, and Go Bills! •