Jax State Graduate Student Gains Global Experience Working FIFA World Cup

For most sports fans, the FIFA World Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime event to attend. For Jacksonville State University graduate student Jordan Gilbert, it became a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help bring the world's biggest sporting event to life.

Jordan spent more than a month - June 4 through July 9 - in Houston working as an event executive for Octagon, a sports marketing agency. Houston served as one of the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, welcoming seven matches at NRG Stadium, officially renamed Houston Stadium for the tournament.

For Jordan, a 24-year-old Sport Industry master's student who graduated last December with a Communication degree, the World Cup wasn't just a job. It was a crash course in global sports culture, event execution and the kind of real-world experience she hopes will launch her career in event planning or event management.