Alumna Credits Cleveland Browns Edge Program for Helping Find Her Passion

Haley Gray ’16 returned to her alma mater on March 28 to be a part of the University of Findlay’s annual Cleveland Browns Edge Program Spring Breakout. As a former Cleveland Browns intern, Gray and several Browns executives spent time sharing career advice with current and prospective University students.
Gray came to the University of Findlay to study physical therapy, but when she realized becoming a physical therapist wasn’t for her, she set out to find a new career path. With guidance from the Center for Career and Professional Development and Scott Grant, Ph.D., assistant professor of business and coordinator of undergraduate initiatives, Gray quickly found her sweet spot in the College of Business as a marketing and sport and event management major.
In her second year at the University of Findlay, Gray began a journey in the University’s Browns Edge Program as a special events intern for the Browns. “From that, I developed relationships within the Browns and really got to my passion point which is community relations,” Gray said.
Hear Gray share one of her favorite memories from interning with the Cleveland Browns that pushed her toward community relations by watching the video below:

After graduating from the University, Gray served as a full-time community relations intern at the Cleveland Browns until she was offered an opportunity to work for a sports marketing agency that she couldn’t turn down. Gray is now in her second year serving as a digital account executive at 4FRONT, a sports marketing agency in Chicago that specializes in digital media, partnerships, innovation and analytics. She believes that her experiences in the Cleveland Browns Edge Program prepared her to thrive in her job today, helping professional sports teams.
“To be successful on the agency side, you really need to know how a team operates because you’re going to be helping professional teams,” Gray explained. “My experience with the Browns has been instrumental in my role in digital media with 4FRONT because I know what it’s like to be on the team side and I’m able to give advice and strategically build a digital plan that’s fitting to a professional team.”