Young Alum Helps Lead NFL Team’s Fan Volunteer Efforts

CELINA (STRATTON) GILES ’17, a community relations coordinator for the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers, received Concordia’s G.O.L.D. (Graduate of the Last Decade) Alumni Achievement Award, which honors a young alumnus/a who is excelling in his or her chosen profession and is demonstrating a continued commitment to living a life reflective of Concordia’s mission and values.

“I felt very humbled and grateful that the alumni association decided to give me the award,” she says. “I like to share the impact Concordia made on my life. I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for Concordia and how integral it was in shaping my faith and my outlook.”

Stratton came to Concordia from San Diego — where she grew up an avid Chargers fan — and served in student leadership. Concordia’s emphasis on servant leadership made a strong impression on her.

“The idea of servant leadership really spoke to me, and that’s how I try to live my life since graduating from Concordia,” she says. “When I look back at my time at Concordia, it was really about the people I met and growing in my faith in that secure space for four years. That has had the biggest impact on my life.”

Jessica James ’19 served on student government with Stratton and now runs Concordia’s orientation programs. 

“I was so in awe of how she connected to people and aspired to excellence in everything she did,” James says. “The way she took me under her wing was special. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and after talking to her I looked into the communications department and loved it. She is the reason I studied what I studied.”

While a student, Stratton also volunteered on the information and communications teams at the National Youth Gatherings in New Orleans in 2016 and Minneapolis in 2019.

“Both times it was a very special experience,” she says. “My leaders had a huge impact on me. They even came to my wedding from Montana last month.”

Stratton graduated from Concordia summa cum laude with a degree in communication studies, then enrolled in the master’s degree in communication management program at the University of Southern California. While earning that degree, she returned to her alma mater as a graduate assistant, overseeing Concordia Cares and helping Concordia students and staff find volunteer opportunities around Orange County, as well as coordinating the intramural sports program.  That set her up perfectly for her present role with the Chargers.

“I’ve used so many of those contacts and that experience, offering it now to our fans or our front office staff,” she says.

Her 2019 internship with the Chargers turned into a full-time job in 2021. Stratton’s primary responsibility is to oversee the Bolts Community Crew, the team’s volunteer platform for fans. She identifies, organizes, and executes volunteer opportunities for “people who have a heart for service and happen to be Chargers fans.” 

Emailed notifications and registration allow fans — and Chargers staff and players — to participate in beach clean-ups with the Surfrider Foundation, serve at Second Harvest food bank in Irvine, and pack Joy Jars for the Jesse Reese Foundation at the Chargers facility overlooking the practice field, as just three examples.

“That’s all thanks to my involvement with Concordia Cares,” Stratton says. “I love getting to do servant leadership every day. People really pay attention when they see an NFL team doing good work in the community.”

On game day, the community relations department that Stratton is a part of helps host guest groups on the field and at their field-level seats, and guides youth football players to run out of the tunnel and stand on the sideline with players for the national anthem and kickoff.

Stratton also helps operate the game day 50/50 raffle, which requires a good deal of oversight due to California’s raffle regulations. Last year, she also helped facilitate a joint effort between the Chargers and Los Angeles Rams to pilot a high school girls’ flag football program in the CIF-Southern Section, with the goal of making football accessible to female student-athletes.

“It’s definitely been an answered prayer to be where I’m at now and do what I love, which is applying that servant leadership,” she says, “and I happen to do it with my favorite football team that I grew up watching. It’s a unique situation, and I never take it for granted. I get to combine my passion for service with my hometown team.”