For the seventh consecutive year, Bentley University is joining MLB.com to sponsor the “Break into the Business of Baseball” program, in which high school students from across America can win a one-month internship at the offices of the Boston Red Sox during summer of 2012. Students will go behind the scenes and learn the ins-and-outs of running a Major League Baseball (MLB) team in areas such as marketing, sales, and corporate relations and partnerships. The program is now accepting submissions for the summer 2012 internship program.

Interested students can enter by submitting a 50 to 100-word essay explaining why they would like to “Break into the Business of Baseball” by working with the Boston Red Sox. Representatives from Bentley and MLB.com judge the essays based on originality, creativity, interest in business, passion and clarity. Current high school students (freshman, sophomore, junior or senior) between the ages of 13-18 are eligible.

The promotion will continue until October 14, 2011, to coincide with the major league baseball playoffs. Winners will be notified by January 15, 2012. Bentley is partnered with Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and Major League Baseball Advanced Media LP (MLBAM) on this exclusive promotion. For official rules and to enter, visit: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/mlb/sweepstakes/y2011/bos/bentley_sweeps_form.jsp

The following Q&A with 2011 winner Mike Tomaino provides an inside look at the program.

Tomaino completed the internship this past summer after graduating from Gloucester High School in Gloucester, Mass., where he was a two-season high school athlete and president of his high school class. With plans to pursue an education in communication, his career goal is to become a professional sports coach. An advocate of community service, he enjoys working with kids and values being a strong role model.

Tomaino says that the opportunity to work with the Red Sox organization helped him view the sports industry from a management and business perspective. “Having only seen sports from the perspective of being an amateur athlete, the internship provided insight to what goes on behind the scenes of a professional sports team. The knowledge I gained was invaluable, and it was exciting to work for one of the best organizations in all of sports.”

Q: What was your day-to-day experience at Red Sox corporate offices in Fenway Park?

MT: I worked with Fenway Sports Management Sales Director Kristin Hanley and Margaret Gormley, senior coordinator of client services. I spent the majority of time working with MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), which runs the teams’ websites, iPhone apps, and online broadcast of games. I used a program called DART to monitor and collect advertising data for MLBAM programs.  I also created Power Points for the different companies and campaigns that ran on the RedSox.com and MLB.com which included impression and click-thru data. 

I also went out on the road to a Dunkin’ Donuts in a small Massachusetts town to hand out Red Sox tickets to the first 20 people who bought an iced coffee as part of the Red Sox/Dunkin’ Donuts "Caught Cold" promotion. Other activities included working events in the State Street Pavilion part of Fenway Park and giving tours of the park before games.

Q: What did you enjoy about the experience? 

MT: The internship was great because it allowed me to travel an hour into Boston three days a week and learn the grind of a 9-to-5 job. It was great to have a summer job in the working world opposed to just an average high school summer job. Giving tours before the games was a lot of fun; most of the people that I brought around the park had never been to Fenway before so it was awesome to see how excited and happy they were to, not only go to a game, but to be able to go on the field to watch batting practice and walk on the green monster. 

Q: What were the challenges?

MT: The most challenging part was trying to help out as much as possible without being annoying. As an intern you want to help your bosses as much as possible without getting in the way! 

Q: What type of feedback did you receive from Red Sox personnel?

MT: Kristin Hanley and Margaret Gormley were both exceptionally nice. They were very easy to work with and always very encouraging and also thankful for my help. The feedback was very positive and they asked me to stay a month longer than I had originally planned!