Kristen Cummins, ’09, Minor League Assistant at Spring Training home of the St. Louis Cardinals

I am the Minor League Assistant at Roger Dean Stadium, Spring Training home to the 2011 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins and their respective Class-A Advanced affiliates, the Palm Beach Cardinals and Jupiter Hammerheads. Roger Dean Stadium is the only stadium in the nation to house four professional baseball teams, easily making it the busiest ballpark in the country. We also host the two largest high school baseball tournaments in the country- USA Baseball and The Perfect Game. During Spring Training, I work all the games, assisting all the Cardinals and Marlins front offices with numerous tasks. I also emcee all on-field promotions. As the Minor League Assistant, I emcee all of the on-field promotions, as well as help prepare public address announcements and game scripts. I run our Education Day program where 10,000 kids throughout Martin and Palm Beach Countys in South Florida come to the stadium to do a mock press conference with a baseball player and enjoy a morning game at the ballpark. I also head up our Scout Night, where hundreds of Cub Scouts sleep over on the outfield lawn. With these programs, I do all the advertisement, sponsorship and ticket sales. I also am a group ticket sales representative, selling tickets to groups of 15 or more in South Florida and back home in St. Louis. I schedule all national anthem singers, 1st pitches and honorary bat kids. These are the main duties I have, but in Minor League baseball you must be prepared to wear many hats- I may stand with sponsors at batting practice one day and the next have to help at the gates. It depends on what day it is and how many people are in park. It has been the best experience of my life so far. One day- I will be working at Busch Stadium because of this opportunity I have been given!

I got to stand on the field during batting practice, meet the players, meet the front office. My office was in the same hallway as Mozeliak’s for the entire month of March! I was living my dream that is for sure. I definitely did not see the postseason coming, but when the Braves started choking I started thinking more positively. What a huge win! I bet the campus was a sea of red; I sure do miss that. I am so happy I got to be a part of their organization this year and am counting down the days until pitchers and catchers report in February.  I would not be here today if it weren’t for all of the HES professors; you truly made my experience at Truman something I will never forget. “

 

 

Why Have a Typical Vacation? Have a TruAdventure!

TruAdventure is a summer excursion like no other – combining a great wilderness experience with wonderful learning and social opportunities. This seven-day program will reinvigorate your passion for the outdoors, your love of learning, and your sense of adventure as you visit breathtaking sites in the rugged parks of Colorado and Utah. Based on a wildly popular travel course designed for Truman undergraduates, TruAdventure has been adapted to meet the needs and interests of the adult traveler interested in a vacation that’s just a little off the beaten path.

Participants converge on Denver, Colorado for a Saturday night stay and Sunday morning departure by motor coach to Moab, Utah, where they spend two days and three nights visiting the sites surrounding Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.  On Wednesday participants arrive in the Cortez, Colorado, area where they explore the Anasazi Heritage Center, the Lowry Pueblo Ruins, and the Howenweep National Monument.  Thursday the tour continues to the Ute Mountain Tribal Park before transitioning to Salida, Colorado.  Friday morning adventurers arrive in Buena Vista, Colorado for a refreshing whitewater rafting adventure on the Arkansas River.  The journey concludes in Denver Friday night with time to relax and contemplate a return to our normal, less adventurous lives.

For more information, click on this link:  http://institute.truman.edu/truadventure.asp

HLTH 150 Salvation Army Food Drive

The HLTH 150 Nutrition class had a food drive and fundraiser for the Salvation Army food pantry during the week of October 17-23, 2011. They had tables on campus and at Hy-Vee requesting non-perishable foods and donations for the food pantry. In all, 25 boxes of food, 10 gallon-sized cans of vegetables, and a check for $1,321.67 was presented to Major Trapp on Monday, October 31, 2011. The students are pictured with Dr. Young and Major Trapp.