Young sports media graduates active at the Paris Olympics
Madison Killshofer (Class of 2020), Creative Producer at Team Whistle, regularly covers high-profile sporting events as part of her career, including the Super Bowl, March Madness, U.S. Open and the WNBA Draft.
Author: Mike Falk
Wednesday, September 4, 2024 3:36 PM
Madison Kilshofer ’20 at the Paris Olympics
Like the thousands of athletes who competed, Madison Kilshofer ’20 made her way to the Olympics through years of hard work, dedication and overcoming obstacles, and Muilenburg played a big role in helping her get there.
A graduate with a double major in media and communications and business administration, Kilshofer recently spent two and a half weeks in Paris as ground support for Meta content creators. She works full time for Team Whistle, a global sports and entertainment media company based in New York. The company’s president is former Muhlenberg football player Joseph Caporoso (Class of 2009).
Mehta hired Team Whistle to represent the city at the Paris Olympics, with Kilshofer supporting the four content creators in areas such as ideation, content shooting, editing and captioning. Some of the sports she participated in included beach volleyball, 3-on-3 basketball, swimming, track and field, archery, BMX and golf.
“It was an amazing experience,” said Kilshofer, who competed in girls’ basketball and track and field at Muhlenberg High School. “Playing beach volleyball at 10 o’clock at night with the Eiffel Tower sparkling was just an incredible moment, like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I’m out here doing this.'”
While Kirchhofer primarily worked behind the scenes in Paris, her day-to-day work at Team Whistle gives her experience on both sides of the camera, producing content for others and for herself. She has been the lead social producer on brand campaigns for clients such as Nike, State Farm, Paramount and Walmart+. She currently produces and hosts an interview-style show called “Barrier Breakers,” in which she interviews female athletes about all things related to women’s sports.
Kilshofer has been using her Muhlenberg experience to work for Team Whistle as a part-time intern the summer after graduation, was hired full-time in early 2021 as social media coordinator and now works as creative producer.
While attending Muhlenberg College, Kilshofer worked as a student staff member in the Public Relations and Marketing department. During the summer after her sophomore year, she worked as an intern, photographing and interviewing more than 50 summer scholars for a feature article that appeared on the college’s website.
Kilshoffer interviewing retired NFL player Jason Kelce at the Super Bowl. Kilshoffer with professional basketball player Angel Reese.
“I talked to them about their research, asked them questions from behind the lens, and made sure they felt comfortable while we were taking their photos,” she says. “I wanted them to feel very candid and natural.”
“It felt like I was producing in a way,” she adds. “Now, meeting new people and having conversations and making them feel natural is a big part of my day, so I think it was a great experience that I had at Muhlenberg.”
Kirshofer admits that she was nervous the first few times she was in front of the camera, but then got used to it. “I think it helped a lot, pushing myself out of my comfort zone,” she says. “Honestly, all the things that scared me ended up being the best things for me in the end.”
Retired professional basketball players Sue Bird and Killshofer, and college basketball players Azi Fudd and Paige Bueckers joined Killshofer in the WNBA draft.
With help from the Muhlenberg Career Center, Kilshofer began corresponding with Caporoso during her senior year, and after she was recruited by Team Whistle and encouraged to put a face on the brand, her work skyrocketed, with covering the Olympics becoming just the latest in an enviable line of jobs.
Kilshofer has attended the Super Bowl, March Madness, the U.S. Open, NBA in-season tournaments, and the NFL game between the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London. A passionate fan of women’s sports, particularly the WNBA, she has covered Nebraska Volleyball Day, the Women’s Final Four (interviewing Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese), the WNBA, and the WNBA Draft.
Just before the Olympics, Kilshofer attended the WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, where she met the legendary Sue Bird. “I was talking to her and I said, ‘I work in the sports industry,'” she recalls. “And she said, ‘Yeah, I know you. I’ve seen your content,’ and she was literally referring to an interview I did with Sheryl Swoopes.”
“That was a really cool moment for me. I thought, ‘Wow, what I’m doing is actually reaching the right people.'”
Retired professional basketball player Sheryl Swoopes and Kilshofer
