Monday, January 19, 2015

3,074 Mile Journey

First and foremost, Happy New Year and Martin Luther King Jr. Day everyone! I hope you had a wonderful holiday before the back to school and/or work rush. My new year was spent in the car, which could explain the title of this blog post.

If familiar with my postings, you could probably pick up that I can be a bit of a workaholic with a passion and love for baseball. Between my spring training trips, summer trip with my dad and working with a minor league team last season, the love for baseball has yet to die. 

After a year and a few months into this program, each turn on my career path has directed me to the position I recently accepted. Knowing baseball started in late March, or the beginning if you want to include Spring Training, I had my sights set on landing a position this upcoming season. With that, I began to network with any and every person I already knew in the industry as well as reaching out even further. I sent out random e-mails and cold called those in positions I hoped to eventually have. 

Towards the end of September, I began to apply to any media related position with baseball I saw. Whether it was at the lowest level of the minor leagues or at the top in the majors, I applied. I applied for positions I was overqualified for and under qualified, just to put myself out there. Most job postings I saw were through PBEO.com (professional baseball employment opportunities) or team websites. 

Within the first few weeks of October, I started to hear back from teams and interviewed for certain positions, but a lot of their job descriptions ended up seeming right for me. Nothing was standing out until the end of October. Around then, I interviewed and was offered a position with Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. Roger Dean is a 13 field complex within the Grapefruit League of Spring Training, playing host to the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins. It's the only stadium to host two teams during spring training. Once the MLB teams go back to their hometowns at the end of March, the Advanced-A teams of the Cardinals (Palm Beach Cardinals) and Marlins (Jupiter Hammerheads) call Roger Dean home in the Florida State League. The teams alternate throughout the year, making it the busiest minor league park in the country. Knowing all this information, I was a bit enticed.

After a weekend of thinking about the job offer, I decided to accept. On January 5th, I stepped into the role as the media representative for the Palm Beach Cardinals. This means I am in charge of all social media accounts, the MiLB website, managing the press box during games, writing game recaps and much more.

Prior to moving across the country, I was able to sort out the rest of my classes out to where I can finish the program online and still graduate in May. With where I am in the program, I need 6 credit hours of electives to complete my degree. As mentioned in previous posts, if an opportunity outside of the Bay Area is within reach, the Sport Management department will do everything in it's power to help you balance your schoolwork. Being told the information on orientation night back on July 9, 2013, I've always had in the back of my mind.

Fast forward to today, I've been working at Roger Dean for two full weeks. It's been such a blast and everything I could have wanted. Having the support of the USF program that allows me to finish my degree while I venture off on my own means the world to me. I honestly think I wouldn't be able to do this anywhere else.

So from here on out, I'll be blogging from the east coast! Be sure to follow the updates that I'll be doing about the Palm Beach Cardinals on Facebook and Twitter (@GoPBCardinals). 

Until next time, check out these pictures and article about Roger Dean!
Outside of the stadium
View from my desk
http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140207&content_id=67504122&fext=.jsp&vkey=min_bus&sid=milb