Next Woman Up: Melainey Lowe, Director of Football Operations for the Indianapolis Colts

Women are rising up the ranks throughout professional football, earning positions of power in a space that for too long was ruled almost exclusively by men. We're seeing more and more women breaking barriers in the sport, but what are the stories beyond the headlines? Who are the women shaping and influencing the NFL today? Answering those questions is the aim of the Next Woman Up series. While the conversational Q&As are edited and condensed for clarity, this is a forum for impactful women to share experiences in their own words. Without further ado, we introduce:

Position: Director of Football Operations

Let's start from the beginning. How did you get your start in a career in football?

I started at Saint Mary's College in northern Indiana on the pre-med track. I was really trying to find my niche, trying to find something I could do to stay involved in sports when I was in school, because I had always played sports growing up. I went across the street to Notre Dame -- part of the tri-campus experience with Saint Mary's and Holy Cross College -- to its club fair. There was a booth for Notre Dame football equipment managers. I didn't know much about equipment, but I thought, Hey, it's football. I grew up a huge Notre Dame fan, so I figured I'd try it. There was an entire tryout process with 75 to 100 students. You can only try out as a freshman to get the position as a sophomore; then you do an interview process at the end of each year, and you either were kept for the next season or cut. I tried out and fell in love with being part of something bigger than myself. I did make it as a sophomore equipment manager.

Going into my sophomore year, I was still on pre-med track and wasn't loving it. I was trying to figure out