Most fans get to see football players score touchdowns and their favorite team win games, but few think about the people who work quietly behind the scenes to make it all possible. For Sienna Mia Claiborne, a recruiting operations intern for UCLA Football, the game looks a little different. It might not be exciting for some, but for Claiborne, it’s a front-row seat to the inner workings of the sport she loves and a first step toward building a career in a male-dominated industry.
Claiborne is entering her third year with the program and has recently been promoted to lead intern. She plays a crucial role in making sure future Bruins feel right at home in Westwood. “I help the recruiting department bring in prospective talent and show them a good time around Westwood,” she said. Once Bruins come to UCLA, she helps “orchestrate a good official visit for them so they know what UCLA is about and they leave at least considering us as a school they should come and commit to.”
Her work extends far beyond campus tours. From stat tracking and film cutting to researching potential Bruins and supporting the coaching staff, Claiborne moves between the front office, the practice field and game day sidelines with ease. She said that being personable and professional is essential because often she’s the very first impression a recruit or family member has of the program.
Raised in a football family, Claiborne knew early on she wanted to work in sports. Her father and brother both had an impact and inspired her love for sports. Her father played at USC, where he went on to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame. He later became a first-round NFL draft pick for the Detroit Lions. So for Claiborne, football came at an early age, and very quickly, she fell in love with the sport.
Initially, when Claiborne applied for the internship during her first year at UCLA, she offered to work for free, and she did for the next two years. This internship was not about the money for Claiborne, but her love for football. She landed her internship during a transitional period for the program, hence the reason she wasn’t paid the first two years. However, after two years of commitment, she will get paid along with all the other football interns at UCLA this year.
When asked what she wanted to do after college, she said, “I am in sports for the long run. This is my lifelong career.” So to Claiborne, football and sports are for life, and she’s happy to get started in the football industry in her college years.
This role has strengthened her organizational and communication skills. She has also learned to stay optimistic under pressure and to navigate a male-dominated field with confidence. “Sometimes … as a woman in sports, I have to represent myself at a higher level. I have to be a lot more self-aware of where I’m at, who I’m around,” she said. “At least at UCLA … you hold your weight and you make sure you’re consistent at it, and it gets recognized.”
Her internship is women-led, with six women among eight interns and two women of color serving as her supervisors. Still, she acknowledges that female interns in football sometimes face unfair assumptions about why they’re there and that some people tend to believe women might be in sports for the wrong reasons.
Her days in the Wasserman Football Center are long, with countless hours spent there. “I don’t think people take into account how much we work.” Her college experience isn’t like most college students, but she “wouldn’t trade it for anything.” Some of her proudest moments are when she sees players she helped recruit competing on the field and when coaches or staff personally acknowledge her work.
Claiborne wants to leave a message for the future of women in sports: “I want more women in sports … football is for women.”
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Featured Image Courtesy of Sienna Mia Claiborne
