Senior Brandon Reynolds is having a ball in his summer internship with the Mystic Schooners, a Groton-based collegiate summer baseball team, part of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

“I have a passion for sports and love being able to watch baseball for free and, of course, see what it takes to run a team. I also enjoy working with people who I never would have met in my life, both volunteers and the team. I am a social person and having those connections matter to me.”

Brandon, in the Business and Leadership core at Mitchell with a concentration in communication, says he does any job that is needed – from running the scoreboard to assisting with gathering video footage for Major League Baseball (MLB) talent scouts. He also draws on many of the abilities he has learned at Mitchell, including critical thinking, communication and technology.

The biggest challenge?

“Sometimes communicating can be a problem. Some people say text me whatever you need, but I don’t get a response. I understand, though, that life is not straightforward. Things come up. Everybody has things going on that people might not know about. If I learned anything living through COVID, it’s learning to be flexible. Being on the autism spectrum, that’s hard for me sometimes. The pandemic showed me that I need to be flexible in being able to adjust to whatever’s coming my way.”

Brandon also understands the foundation for good communication.

“I like to look at my job from all perspectives.”

That means keeping eyes and ears open to what people might be experiencing at the ballfield and then making suggestions based on what he hears.

“The Mystic Schooners game day operations are currently cash only, so visitors to the games are not able to use a credit or debit card to purchase items. I heard a family say that they would buy merchandise but didn’t have any cash to purchase. My solution was talking with the director of marketing to propose having an electronic option. A credit card machine is now in the works.”

A Vermont native who volunteered in the past with the Mountaineers, a collegiate team based in his home state, Brandon said that the players come to play for the Mystic Schooners from many different states, with the goal of getting looked at by scouts to be drafted into the MLB league or because they lost a season of play because of COVID, which also postponed Brandon’s internship from last summer.

“This internship has expanded my idea of what I can do when I graduate. I knew when I came to Mitchell that I was interested in sports communications. I love broadcasting and am the director of sports for Radio Mitchell. But now I’ve learned that I don’t necessarily have to just do broadcasting. I can work for the team in many ways. I know I can do anything if I keep my mind open.”