Super Bowl Sunday is always an exciting day for most Elon students, but this year’s game has a special connection. Elon University alumna Caroline Brehman ’18 will not only be attending the 2023 Super Bowl game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb.12 in Phoenix, Arizona, but she will be on the sidelines working as a photojournalist for the Eagles through European Pressphoto Agency.
Brehman said she is excited to not only experience the game, but to also have the opportunity to capture the major sporting event.
“I get to be there and have one of the best seats in the house,” Brehman said. “It’s things like that where I just feel incredibly lucky to experience it and get to tell the game through my own way and story through my lens, so it's definitely a privilege.”
Brehman first found her passion for photography in high school when she took introductory photo courses, but she never imagined that she would turn her passion into a career.
“I didn't think I could make a career out of it,” Breham said. “I always thought it was something I could just do on the side.”
When she first arrived at Elon, Brehman said she planned to major in psychology, but after attending the fall organization fair her freshman year, her path changed. Brehman connected with the National Press Photographers Association and was able to reignite her passion for photography.
Randy Piland, professor of communication design and adviser of NPPA, said he is proud of her for finding her passion.
“She’s the one that discovered it and she then set out to do this type of work,” Piland said. “I really take very little credit for it because it's really her ambition that drove her to do this. All I like to do is to help facilitate that by giving her opportunities and trying to connect her with the right people.”
The communication design student left her mark on many communications programs throughout her four years at Elon, including photography roles for student-run magazine, The Edge, and The Pendulum.
“What I really love about Elon’s communication school is that they really encourage you to get hands-on experience,” Brehman said. “Obviously learning things in the classroom is very important, but doing organizations like The Edge and The Pendulum really got me out there and helped to build my portfolio.”
Over the course of her career, Brehman interned and worked all over the country pursuing photojournalism, beginning with an internship at The Burlington Times News. She also interned at the Las Vegas Review Journal and worked for Roll Call in Washington D.C., covering Capitol Hill. Piland said he is proud of everything she has accomplished in her career at such a young age.
“I think she is a perfect candidate for all those opportunities because she has the personality, she has the skills and the desire to really advance in what she's doing,” Piland said. “When those doors open, she's there and she's stepping in to take advantage of every opportunity she can. It's been amazing what she's done from being in Washington and working for the congressional Roll Call publication doing politicians, to now, where she's doing a lot of everything.”
Brehman currently works as one of two photographers covering the Los Angeles area for the international wire service EPA Images, serving a widespread audience. Originally from Wayne, Pennsylvania, which is about 30 minutes away from Philadelphia, she is even more excited to get back into sports photography and cover her hometown team, the Eagles.
“I've always liked sports and been a big fan of sports,” Brehman said. “I like going to sporting games and I really like the atmosphere. Shooting sports helps you to be a better photographer, it improves your reaction and your skill sets, it just helps sharpen all those things.”
Piland said that it's important to be able to capture many different areas of photography when working as a photojournalist, which is also a trait he sees in Brehman.
“I think it's very important to be well rounded as a person in photojournalism because you deal with something different almost every day,” Piland said. “If you're just one type of photographer like a wedding photographer, then your world is all about weddings. When you're a photojournalist, you're almost a little bit of everything, and you might do things that you wouldn't normally do in your daily work.”
After the Super Bowl, Brehman will be covering more national events, such as the Oscars, and is looking forward to what's in store for the future of her career.
“I don't really know what the future holds but at this point in my career I'm just trying to push myself to grow as a photographer and keep pushing myself and putting myself out there and in different situations,” Brehman said.