An American Football fan who studied at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has landed the Super Bowl of jobs - working as an NFL reporter in Toronto.
Jack Browne, who graduated from DMU in 2014 with a 2:1 in Film Studies and Journalism, said he "wakes up every morning, excited to go to work" since winning the role as an NFL news editor for Canadian-based website and app The Score.
The 23-year-old said American Football was his biggest passion and that during his years of study at DMU, he wrote for free on different sports websites, building his knowledge and experience.
He said: "The journalism team at DMU really emphasised getting work experience, and how valuable it could be. They preached finding something you were passionate about, and so I did.
"The few years of writing online, testing my skills, and just enjoying writing were vital in getting me this job, as was the way the journalism team taught news reporting, and helped me to improve my writing skills.
"DMU has a really personal feel. The campus being so together, the approach by the lecturers and how helpful they were: everything combines into a much friendlier, and therefore a better, way to learn. Sometimes universities treat you just like a face in the crowd; DMU isn't like that."
Jack said he moved to Toronto on a two-year work visa without a job lined up. But a few days after he arrived, he spotted the advert for the role at The Score.
He said: "I applied a few days after I'd arrived. I had the job application open on my laptop for days, talking myself out of it. I had a phone interview, then I was asked in for a face-to-face with the two senior editors on the team.
"A few days later I found out I got the job while sitting in the cinema, and my girlfriend and me had a silent freak out. I started the job just two weeks after arriving, they needed someone in quick as they season starts in early September."
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In his role, Jack covers NFL news for US audiences online and across its mobile app. But he said the work environment was almost as good as the work.
"The Score is a crazy place to work," he said. "It's a pretty modern office, we have a PS4 and FIFA set up, a ping pong table, and a free beer tap (solely for after work) in our recreational room.
"On Sundays we get together in our "War Room", which consists of six TVs, and the whole NFL team covers the main day of games in the league. That's a lot of fun."
He said he would be in this job for at least the next two years, until his working visa runs out, when he will move back home.
He said: "The UK doesn't have positions like this, so I would probably look to freelance and explore other areas of journalism I'm interested in."
Posted on Monday 26 October 2015