Broadcast Major Sara Mackulin is a Media Relations Intern for the Pittsburgh Pirates Monday, July 17, 2017
Meet Sara Mackulin
Internship: Media Relations Intern, Pittsburgh Pirates
Major: Broadcast Reporting
Minors: Spanish and Public Relations and Advertising
Expected graduation: December 2018
College activities: Honors Program, U-View (I will be the station manager this fall; also a co-producer and co-host for our sports show Pioneer Sideline), volunteer as a commentator/color analyst for Point Park Sports Network, a work study at Student Production Services and a board member for the Pittsburgh Center for Sports Media and Marketing
Scholarships: Presidential Scholarship, Fall 2017 Recipient of the Myron Cope Scholarship
Hometown: Jefferson Hills, Pa.
High school: Thomas Jefferson High School
Hobbies/interests: Spending time with my family, sports, being outdoors and playing softball
How did you land this internship?
I heard about it from my friend and classmate, Josh Croup, who worked as a media relations intern for the Pittsburgh Pirates last year. I knew this was an internship I wanted to pursue, but wasn't sure if I had enough experience working in baseball to land it. I applied anyway and to my surprise, a few weeks later I got an email from Dan Hart (who is now my boss), asking if I would like to come in for an interview. This was around mid-January. In the same week, I accepted a general internship with the single-A affiliate for the Pirates, the West Virginia Power. However, I went to my interview and about a week later, I got a call from Dan, offering me the internship with the Pirates. I was ecstatic and accepted, then called West Virginia later that day explaining the situation. Thankfully, they completely understood and wished me luck.
What are your key responsibilities in this role?
I have a lot of pre-game responsibilities so typically, if I am the game-day intern for a series, I arrive about five hours before the game. When I arrive, I'm responsible for delivering the stat packs, home and visiting teams' game notes and the lineup to various places in the ballpark. This includes the Pirates' clubhouse, visiting team's clubhouse, AT&T SportsNet and the visiting team's production trucks and the press box. I also have to set up the press box for the game, so plugging in the microphones, setting up the phones, turning on all the TVs and opening the windows.
During the game, I sit in the press box on Skype messaging with our broadcasters and our production truck, clarifying any questionable plays, letting them know who's in the bullpen warming up, and looking up any stats they want to know or may come into play during the game.
After the game, I print out the post-game stats and deliver them around the press box and down to the PR/Media Relations manager of the visiting team. I take down everything I set up in the press box pre-game, shut the windows and call it a night.
What do you hope to learn in this role and how will that enhance the work do at Point Park?
I have learned so much as intern for the Pirates. Having this internship on my resume is definitely an eye-opener to potential employers and a strong demonstration of my abilities. I hope to one day become a sports broadcaster. I not only am immersed in the baseball world everyday at my job, but I get to shadow our broadcasters, learning what they look for in terms of notes and stats and also what they do effectively that has led them to success.
In addition, I have a public relations and advertising minor and I've always said if I didn't make it in broadcasting, I would want to do public/media relations for a sports team and this couldn't be a better experience for me in that aspect.
What I've learned in this internship will not only help me in my future, but in my new positions this coming fall at U-View, our student-run television station. My experience working with the Pirates' broadcasters and the entire Pirates organization will help my broadcasting skills as a host and my communication and leadership skills as the new station manager.
Why did you choose to attend Point Park for your major?
Once I discovered Point Park, I explored their website and found information on their broadcast reporting major. Things looked good online and I scheduled a visit to tour the campus with one of their professors. He showed me the campus but what I really fell in love with was the television studio, which was like nothing I had seen before. I knew I wanted to stay in Pittsburgh because of the fact that our city has three sports teams, something important for a pursuing sports broadcaster and for family reasons. Point Park just seemed like the perfect fit. I knew I would get a more hands-on training and one-on-one experiences with my professors here than at other larger schools like Pitt, so I ultimately chose Point Park.
What do you love most about being a Point Park Pioneer?
I love what I get to do here. Point Park has brought me so many new experiences that I know I would not have gotten anywhere else. I love being a part of U-View and the television studio here. The fellow students who I work with there are like my family and I love watching myself grow as well as the others around me.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Don't be afraid to get out there. I was never the most outgoing person, but I joined U-View to pursue my passion and it has only led me to great experiences that will help me in my future. Also, don't be afraid to reach outside the box. I was almost not going to apply for my internship because it was a little outside my comfort zone and I didn't think I was good enough. Don't underestimate yourself and try something new because I love my job and could possibly see myself following that as a career path in the future.
Photo by Annie Brewer, junior cinema production major