‘Let’s play two!’ Bellisario College student returns to MiLB team for internship

(Editor’s Note: This is the fifth in a series of stories about internships being completed by students in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.— Penn State sophomore Peyton Reedy loved her internship with minor league baseball’s Harrisburg Senators last summer so much that she went back this season for extra innings.

Reedy has been a Senators fan for a long time. She remembers watching the team, the AA-affiliate of the Washington Nationals, with her family when she was young. Those games — along with frequent trips to Penn State football games — sparked her interest in sports.

“My mom sends me pictures from 12 years ago, and it's me and our mascot, Rascal,” Reedy said. “Looking at it from where I am now, it’s crazy.”

As a fan, Reedy said, she enjoys the festive atmosphere and excitement of baseball games. For the second straight summer, she is helping make the game-day magic happen as an intern with Senators. Her responsibilities last season included everything from clean-up to ticket scanning. This summer, she is primarily involved with the team’s marketing, in addition to the game-day tasks.

“I curate a lot of the graphics and come up with events for our mascot to do,” she said. “I do promotions and create ads for the video board about future games and promotions. It’s awesome.”

Taking a swing

FNB Field is located on City Island in Harrisburg, about 30 minutes from Elizabethtown, Reedy's hometown. When looking for internships last year, she thought the Senators would be a great place to work. So, Reedy took a swing.

“I don't remember who, but I emailed someone, and they forwarded my message on. After that, I was hired as a game-day intern,” she said. “The job was a lot of setting up for games, tearing down games, and just helping the game move smoothly.”

Reedy said that by the end of the summer, she was seeking out new opportunities and responsibilities at the ballpark. She put in extra hours working in the box office and learning how the front office works. So, when the summer of 2024 came around, she was ready for another swing. The spring semester ended, and she started right away in a full-time general business associate role with the team’s marketing department.

Cole Single, a fellow Elizabethtown native and Reedy’s supervisor last summer, said Reedy’s passion was evident from the get-go.

“Peyton is always smiling and high energy, and I think in sports or entertainment or any sort of hospitality service industry, that energy goes a long way,” he said. “We are going six days at a time with 12-hour days, but Peyton is always bringing that positivity, which is why I thought she was a really good fit in Harrisburg.”

What’s an example of Reedy’s energy and passion in action? Single, who is with the Hudson Valley Renegades now, said Reedy was one of few people who voluntarily chose to work parking duty.

“I think it was the thing Peyton was known for the most during the first internship in Harrisburg … her love for the parking lot,” Single said. “Most people standing in a parking lot on a hot July day don’t want to be there. But you are the front line of customer service, and Peyton embraced that.”

Reedy explained, “I’m a people person. I love interacting with fans. I definitely learned how to deal with people — even when they’re not happy. And I always want to make people happy.”

Single said that if Reedy decided to continue with a career in minor league or professional sports, her “ability to embrace the small things” will help her succeed. That goes for more tangible skills too, which Reedy has been learning in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.

“I really like the creative side of advertising … and I love what I’ve been learning in my classes,” Reedy said. “Penn State has led me to a lot of great things.”

She added, “This [internship] is my first full experience in marketing, so I’m learning more about that too and I absolutely love it.”

‘Home away from home’

Growing up, Reedy was involved with gymnastics and soccer, but in high school she stopped playing sports and started “working sports.” She enjoyed writing about games and taking photos of players on the field. She was her high school’s yearbook editor, and the sports pages were her favorite to make.  When it came to choosing colleges, there wasn’t much debate.

“I come from a big Penn State family,” she said. “I grew up going to Penn State games. My parents have season tickets to football. It is my home away from home, so I knew that’s where I wanted to go.”

During the 2023 spring semester, Reedy interned with Penn State Athletics in a video production position. She worked video boards, ran camera and did some editing for all but two Penn State sports teams. Reedy hopes to continue learning and building skills in both the classroom and the stadium, and at the moment, baseball is the sport waving her in.

“Looking at the internship I had last year with the Senators and looking at me now, it's like, this is crazy. I love what I do,” Reedy said. “I know there's a lot of games. It's a longer season, but I feel like baseball is where I'll stay."