Michael Jackson, West Virginia University sports management major, recently completed a summer internship with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, a professional baseball team in the Atlantic League, Waldorf, Maryland.
Michael is a fifth year senior at WVU and transferred from Liberty University in 2011 where he played football. Jackson learned in November 2012 that he got the internship.
Michael had other offers from the Washington Redskins and Atlanta Falcons in ticket sales, but went with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs because he felt it was more hands-on and wanted to work in all departments besides ticket sales.
Michael’s internship duties varied every day. He worked in marketing, ticket sales, mascot, concessions, theme nights, ground keeping and other departments. He experienced new duties every day. At the beginning of the internship he started with the basics then realized his preference was business administration and finance of the sport industry. At the beginning of the internship he could make 50 cold calls about ticket sales but by the end of summer he was able to do 350 cold calls a day. A big part of the internship was helping with all-star week when players from the entire Atlantic league participated.
“It was the best time to be an intern. I met all the general managers and owners of other teams,” he commented.
Michael loved most of the work and the variation of the internship. “Everything I really wanted, I got,” he said.
Michael’s favorite part of the internship was working with other interns. One intern, Steve, was from Taiwan and getting his masters from John Hopkins University. Working with other interns from diverse backgrounds and different universities taught him how people think. Another favorite part was getting to learn baseball and how it is operated efficiently and effectively. Lastly, his favorite moment is hearing fans on the phone happy and seeing them excited.
Being a sports management major at WVU helped him prepare for this internship and it tied in perfectly. Dr. Jones, Dean Brooks, and other professors told him to get experience wherever possible. They told Michael to make himself an asset and act like he belongs there. They suggested that he stand out. Michael did by parking on the right of the stadium while everyone parked on the left. Being the only person parking on the right it made Michael stand out and more recognizable out of the interns. The WVU professors also give him feedback which he says is helpful. In the end Michael was considered the head intern.
Michael said it was the best decision he ever made when he chose the internship with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. It was a good experience overall and Michael took every opportunity that was handed to him. The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs offered Michael a full time internship position by the end of summer.