We move our next Bison Spotlight to Andrew Charbonneau. He is from Berlin, CT and will be graduating in May 2020 with a degree in Business Management. On The Hill, Andrew has played baseball all four years and been awarded team captain his junior and senior year. He is also a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and works for Nichols College Facilities Department. Outside of school and work, he likes to spend time fishing, enjoying the outdoors with family and friends and cooking for family and friends. Andrew also is a volunteer coach for the Berlin Varsity American Legion Baseball Program. A fun fact about Andrew: he is currently working under Alumnus Anthony Razzano with the Razzano Real Estate Group in pursuit to obtain his Real Estate License.
Over the summer, Andrew interned with the Hartford Yard Goats, a AA Minor League Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies as a Business Professional Development Associate. He rotated between the Sponsorships, Event Management, Operations, Group Ticket Sales, Gameday Promotions, Box Office Sales and Merchandise departments within the Hartford Yard Goats Organization.
When asked about a typical day in his experience, Andrew said, “When I would start in a new department, I would first get a chance to introduce myself to the department members and discuss their daily routine. This helped me best understand the goals and strategy of the team. During game days, the workplace environment was more-fast paced, and daily game day tasks were completed with the utmost priority being positive fan experience. Communication between all departments was crucial to this process. Before every game, a “team meeting” between all executive staff gave staff the opportunity to share any last-minute information. Non-game days were definitely quieter and gave employees a chance to evaluate data that was received the game before, or to prepare for the games ahead.”
Andrew’s favorite thing about the internship was he had the chance to organize four jersey auctions for the Yard Goats Foundation, a non-profit organization that is used to give social, educational, and scholarship opportunities to the community. He also loved the fan engagement during these auctions.
Andrew said the biggest takeaway from his experience was, “As I became more comfortable with the atmosphere of the company, I began to interact with senior-level executives every chance that I got. Whether it was in a professional setting where I met with the General Manager to consider a new creative promotion or more personal interactions where I picked their brain about advice for future opportunities, all executives were happy to listen and share their personal experiences for my benefit. Most companies are actively evaluating you throughout your internship, and impressions that you make during your experience can propel you to new career opportunities.”
We would like to thank Andrew for taking the time to share his experience with us. The CPDC wishes you the best of luck in your future endeavors.
