Story written by: Kyle Cooper

Throughout my undergraduate experience at Robert Morris University I was able to gain a few valuable internship opportunities in sport. The most memorable one was during the summer heading into my junior year; I served as a full-time sales intern with the Washington Wild Things, an independent league baseball organization in Washington, PA. With this opportunity I was able to maintain and build relationships through group sales efforts, headed the online sales department, as well as filled requests on single game ticket requests. We were a small organization so it allowed me the ability to carry many hats and I’m grateful to have experienced the intricacies that go into a small sports franchise.

Under the topic of carrying “many hats” included my most critical duty within the organization. For all fifty home games that season I suited up as the team mascot, the Wild Thing. It was a hot and sweaty summer perusing the home crowd, visiting the luxury suites, and performing all the between inning on-field promotions. As an unpaid sales intern the mascot role allowed me to get a paycheck each week that summer and I had a lot of fun performing. When I interviewed for the sales position that summer I did not anticipate dressing up as a 7-foot tall furry animal but the story that has been told since has been very worth it.

My total experience with the Wild Things was an experience I’ll always remember. I still have many friends from my Wild Thing family and the leadership through the Washington c-suite gave me a great look into a successful sports organization. Both learning the ins and outs of sports sales and the entertainment experience as a mascot was invaluable experience in what was a great summer internship.

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