Marketing and public relations student hits home run with Cooperstown internship

Because she spent all summer at a place where most baseball fans would love to have just one day, Isabelle Monk downplays the fact that she’s not a huge sports fan. Knowledgeable, but not fanatical.

“I grew up watching baseball but haven’t watched that much since I started college,” she admitted. “But my dad and I were definitely Seattle Mariner fans.”    

Her trip to Cooperstown, New York, to work as a special events intern at the National Baseball Hall of Fame was less about being around baseball royalty and more about determining what she wants to do after graduation.

Double majoring in marketing and public relations, her main goals for the internship were to take advantage of the opportunities it provided (improving skills in public speaking, event planning and communications), and to learn the ins and outs of working in a large organization.

During her time at the Hall of Fame, Monk gave presentations to museum visitors and worked special events with the public during Hall of Fame Induction Weekend. She also presented an oral research project about women in baseball.  

And even though she stayed busy with her special events duties, she was also able to job shadow with different parts of the organization.

“They encouraged us to go out and work in different departments,” she said. “So in doing that, I became interested in membership activities, sponsorships, and development – in addition to my special events work.”

One of her biggest takeaways was to soak in as much knowledge as possible during an opportunity like hers.

And while she did allow herself to take in the moment of being around Hall of Famers like Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr. and Ichiro Suzuki, she focused more on learning and less on cheering.

“I think it was better that I didn’t act like a huge fan when I interacted with them,” she said. “I saw working with them as a part of the job and a learning opportunity.”

On the weekends, Monk took side trips into bigger cities like New York City and Boston, where she took in a few baseball games among other experiences. The Genesee native said she appreciated being able to see what opportunities lie outside Idaho.

“I was always in love with the idea of going to New York City, so that was eye-opening,” she said. “There’s so much more to the world than where I’ve lived so far – I think it’s important to get out and experience that a little bit.”