Westmont Magazine A Giant Opportunity

Although he wasn’t a baseball fan, Matthew Bawks ’99 persisted in seeking an internship with the San Francisco Giants because he wanted to work in the sports industry. As a participant in Westmont’s San Francisco Urban program last year, he needed to arrange an internship in the Bay Area. At first, the organization wasn’t responsive, but he kept calling and talking to people until they offered him a position in the group sales department. He even agreed to stay beyond the end of the semester and work for the Giants throughout the summer.

“I had a great time and became a real baseball fan,” Matt says. “I went above and beyond my duties to get as much experience as possible and worked in marketing and promotions as well. I learned a lot about major league sports — it’s great to have a job that requires you to go to baseball games!”

Matt also found out how to make the right contacts to land a job. “I really worked hard at setting up the internship and discovered that persistence and talking to the right people pay off.”

His major task was organizing group nights. For example, when the U.S. Open came to San Francisco, the Giants held “Junior Golf Night” and invited both junior and professional golfers to attend.

A communication studies major from Visalia, Calif., Matt competes with Westmont’s club rugby team and will travel with them to South Africa for three weeks this summer. He hopes to take a full-time job with the Giants or another sports team when he returns; he knows now how to work the system.