Bentley University is giving two high school students the chance to play in the big leagues and learn about the business aspects of professional sports through internships with the Boston Red Sox and Yankees.com.
Through the “Break into the Business of Baseball” program, sponsored by Bentley and MLB.com, participants will complete a one-month internship during summer 2013. Zachary Aldrich of Tully, NY, will intern with Yankees.com; and Alexa Tanzi of Toms River, NJ, will intern with the Boston Red Sox.
Bentley solicited 100-word essays from high school students nationwide, asking them to explain why they should be chosen for the unprecedented one-month internship offered by the Red Sox and Yankees.com. Representatives from Bentley and MLB.com judged the essays based on originality, creativity, interest in business, passion and clarity.
“We are thrilled Zachary and Alexa will gain valuable business experience working with us this year. They will be able to immediately align that experience with their educations as they begin to pursue their career goals,” said Noah Garden, EVP, Revenue, MLB.com.
Zachary Aldrich
Zachary Aldrich is a senior at Tully Junior-Senior High School. A lifelong Yankees fan, he recently recognized the need to replace a childhood dream of playing on the baseball field for a career behind-the-scenes in baseball operations. With that in mind, he has studied sabermetrics and completed an internship with the Syracuse Chiefs.
“This opportunity could help me to reach my goal of becoming an MLB General Manager,” Aldrich says of the Business of Baseball internship.
Alex Tanzi
Alexa Tanzi is a senior at Toms River High School North. A baseball enthusiast and passionate Red Sox fan, she plans to become the first female general manager in professional sports. In that light, she has worked hard to achieve success in school and extra-curricular activities.
“This internship with the Red Sox will help me pave the way for other female sports aficionados and enrich the Fenway Faithful tradition,” Tanzi says.
On being a New Jersey native and Red Sox fan, she observes: “When I was younger, I didn’t have a favorite team, even though my father was an avid Yankees fan. But I did have a reputation as a jinx because when the Yankees played the Red Sox and I was watching, Boston always won. By 2008, I grew really interested in baseball, and spent the offseason learning about Fenway and the Sox's history and absolutely fell in love with the team. I eventually turned my dad into a Sox fan, too!”