Andrea Gosper, shown as a University of New England senior in 2019, served as an intern on the UNE football coaching staff before landing an internship as a scout with the Buffalo Bills. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Former University of New England softball player Andrea Gosper has turned her love for football into a full-time NFL job with the Buffalo Bills.

Gosper, who had been a paid intern in the Bills’ scouting department the last two years, is now the team’s player personnel coordinator. Her new responsibilities will mostly consist of college scouting, with some pro scouting and administrative work, according to the Bills website.

Gosper was discovered by the Bills after attending the NFL’s Women’s Careers in Football Forum in 2019.

Buffalo General Manager Brandon Beane said on the website that Gosper earned her promotion.

“She’s a grinder,” he said. “I don’t know anybody that’s put more hours in this building than her in the last two years. She loves it, you can see it. She’s just fired up to come in here. While she’s still growing, she’s got what it takes. In two years, she’s come so far. She’s going to be a good scout when her day comes. I firmly believe that.”

Beane added that Gosper’s experience as a college athlete is an advantage.

“She just brings a great perspective,” he said. “She played college sports, she was a college softball player. There are certain times where you want to ask her, ‘How would an athlete feel? How does that look from your perspective?’ Obviously she brings the female perspective and sometimes us men are blinded to certain things.”

Of course, football isn’t completely foreign to Gosper. She grew up in Rhode Island watching the New England Patriots play on Sundays with her dad. Then, as a senior at UNE, she served as an intern on the Nor’easters football coaching staff. That internship ultimately led to her attending the NFL Women’s Careers in Football Forum. While there, she met with Beane and assistant general manager Joe Schoen.

A month later, she was offered an internship by the Bills, who have been one of the most aggressive NFL franchises in hiring women. In announcing Gosper’s promotion, Buffalo also announced that it had hired Sophia Lewin as an offensive assistant. The Bills also brought on two more female interns.