Seeing Yourself on the Biggest Screen
For Jasmine, Super Bowl week carried a different kind of meaning.
Months earlier, she had been selected alongside other SMASH scholars to participate in filming for the NFL Inspire Change public service announcement. The shoot itself was a milestone. For many scholars, it was their first time on a professional set, surrounded by cameras, lighting crews, and production teams moving with precision.
Jasmine remembers the nerves before filming began. The unfamiliar environment. The quiet moments before the cameras rolled. And then the realization that her story, her presence, mattered enough to be shared with a national audience.
Standing beside fellow SMASH scholars and staff members, Jasmine felt supported. The set was professional, but it was also grounding. There was laughter between takes. Encouragement from staff. A shared understanding that this moment was bigger than any single frame.
When filming wrapped, the experience felt complete. Or so it seemed.
On February 4, Jasmine joined the team atSuper Bowl week.. This time, she was part of the SMASH delegation attending the Inspire Change Super Bowl STEAM Celebration in San Francisco. She spent the day learning alongside peers, engaging in hands-on activities, and meeting mentors just like everyone else.
But Jasmine carried something extra with her that day. She knew what was coming.
A few days later, on Super Bowl Sunday, the Inspire Change PSA aired nationally. Jasmine, surrounded by family and friends, watched as the commercial played. And then she saw it. Her face. Her presence. Her story. Beamed into homes across the country during one of the most watched moments of the year.
For Jasmine, the moment was hard to describe. Pride, disbelief, excitement, and reflection all at once. Seeing herself on screen was not about fame. It was about visibility. It was about proof that scholars like her belong in spaces of innovation, leadership, and national conversation.
Staff watched too. As a team who has walked alongside scholars through their academic journeys, seeing SMASH scholars represented on such a stage was deeply affirming. It reflected years of mentorship, trust, and belief in what young people can achieve when supported early.
For SMASH, the PSA represented more than a commercial. It was a signal. A signal that scholar stories matter. That long term investment pays off. That confidence built over years can show up powerfully in a thirty second national moment.
As SMASH celebrates 25 years, Jasmine’s experience captures the heart of the work. A scholar who learned, grew, showed up, and then saw herself reflected back to the world.
Super Bowl week will come and go. Commercials will rotate. Stadiums will empty.
But for Jasmine, and for the twenty SMASH Scholars and alumni who stepped into Super Bowl city as learners, the impact will last far longer.
These were not one off moments. They were milestones in a longer journey. Proof that when opportunity meets preparation, young people rise.
And sometimes, they even see themselves on the biggest screen in the world.
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