While going from being an undecided freshman to landing your dream job right after graduation just four years later may seem like an impossible feat, Klein College of Media and Communication alumna Aly Clauson, KLN ’22, (she/her) did just that. 

Clauson declared her major in advertising on the account management track by the end of her freshman year at Temple University in 2019. By June 2022, she landed a job as a content and social media fellow with the Philadelphia 76ers.  

“It’s a great first job for me. It’s everything I could have wanted and more,” Clauson said.  

As soon as she saw the 76ers had posted a job for her current position, Clauson applied and heard back the very next day about setting up an interview. After four rounds of interviews, she officially joined the two other women on the 76ers social media team to complete the trio that now runs all 76ers social media platforms. 

Clauson and the social media team spent all summer brainstorming content ideas, and now that the basketball season is in full swing, she is getting to see those ideas come to life.  

On game days, Clauson gets to the arena three hours early so she can record the players arriving and shooting around before warming up. For each game, she and the social media team rotate which platforms they will be using. Clauson has been doing Facebook and TikTok, and loves sitting right by the court to watch the action. 

“She’s very driven, eager and excited to be working in the sports industry,” said Senior Social Media Manager for the 76ers Julie Vilanova (she/her). She noted that in particular, Clauson has been a huge part of growing the team’s following on TikTok and is always considering the best ways to use specific sounds and clips of the players on their feed. 

However, Vilanova noted, Clauson is also able to seamlessly transition between any platform she is assigned to for the game and has a great understanding of the sport that helps her produce the best content. 

When Clauson first got to Temple in 2018, she knew she wanted to be in Klein but wasn’t quite sure what major she wanted to pursue just yet. She spent her first semester taking a variety of courses and looking at the bulletins for different majors. She said there were so many advertising classes that interested her and they were all so different, from graphic design to creative thinking, that she felt like she had found her niche. 

During her junior year, Clauson got an email about the new sports media certificate being offered to Klein students. Though it would have been too late for her to take all of the classes and still graduate in four years, that email opened her eyes to the whole world of sports media. 

“Because of that email, I found my path to be in the sports world,” Clauson said.  

Clauson had three internships in sports over the rest of her time at Temple. First was with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. There, Clauson worked game days and did a variety of tasks, including being the mascot for the day. Despite the sometimes random tasks, Clauson loved it, and the experience confirmed that she wanted to be in the sports industry.  

Next, Clauson was a ticket sales intern with the Philadelphia Phillies during her first semester of senior year. Finally, she interned in corporate partnerships and advertising with the Philadelphia Flyers before graduating in spring 2022. 

“Those three sports internships I had really gave me a huge background in sports to be able to get where I am today,” Clauson said. 

One person who has been by Clauson’s side through all four years of college, every internship, and then some is her friend and fellow advertising major Taylor Jones, KLN ’22, (she/her). Jones noted that Clauson was always a leader in the classes they had together and balanced her internships and classes with grace. 

“It’s cool to see and hear about her experiences,” Jones said. She loves hearing what ideas on the 76ers social media were Clauson’s, even if Clauson is humble about it. 

Clauson is proud to be a Klein alumna and is glad that she stuck it out and found her niche in the field, even if she wasn’t always so sure. Without Klein, she said, she wouldn’t have her dream career right now.