FAHSS Alum Teams Up with Graphic Design Major in Lowell Spinners鈥 Control Booth
Image by Ed Brennen
09/06/2019
By Ed Brennen
The Lowell Spinners were on the road, playing a doubleheader in Staten Island, N.Y., so all was quiet on an August afternoon at LeLacheur Park on East Campus, home of the Boston Red Sox鈥 short-season Single A affiliate.
Inside the Spinners鈥 front offices, team employees went about their business amid a collection of Mookie Betts bobblehead dolls and 鈥淐analigator鈥 ephemera. Among them were recent UML graduate Erin Reynolds 鈥18 and senior graphic design major Sara May.
Reynolds, a Dracut native, is the Spinners鈥 coordinator of creative services and entertainment, a full-time position that she landed in January after working as a video production intern for the team the previous summer.
鈥淚鈥檇 never done anything like this, but I鈥檝e really been enjoying the new experience,鈥 says Reynolds, who oversees all aspects of game day entertainment, from the graphics and funny video clips on the left-field scoreboard, to the public address announcements and music played between innings.
It鈥檚 no small job. Minor league baseball attendance hit a in 2018. For teams trying to attract fans in the Instagram era, entertaining the crowd during lulls in the action is crucial.
鈥楬aving this experience before my senior year has reassured me that I have gained a lot of skills through school. I feel more confident now.鈥 -Spinners Intern Sara May鈥淓ngaging fans is definitely the fun part of baseball that I get to control,鈥 says Reynolds, who earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in liberal arts (with a minor in graphic design and concentrations in English and digital media) from the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
During her senior year, Reynolds met May in a video editing class. While they didn鈥檛 collaborate on any projects, they learned about each other鈥檚 work style. A year later, when Reynolds needed to hire a video production intern for the summer, she immediately reached out to her former classmate.
鈥淪he knew my work ethic,鈥 says May, a Lowell native who is minoring in digital media and art history. The paid internship, which also allowed May to earn three credits, 鈥渟ounded cool, so I went for it.鈥
Although they both grew up near LeLacheur Park, neither Reynolds nor May considered themselves baseball fans as kids.
Image by Ed Brennen
鈥淚 actually didn鈥檛 even realize the Spinners were here until late in high school,鈥 admits May, a Lowell High grad who says her family was more into football.
But working in the Spinners鈥 control booth, knowing pop culture references is just as important as knowing about pop-ups on the infield.
鈥淚 think this generation, being on our phones all the time, we have a good feel for pop culture references,鈥 May says.
To make people look up from their phones while watching the game, Reynolds and May help dream up clever bits to entertain the crowd. On 鈥淏oston Bruins Night,鈥 for instance, they played clips of Spinners players trying to pronounce names like 鈥淒avid Krejci鈥 and 鈥淢att Grzelcyk.鈥 They also added hockey helmets (and deleted a few teeth) from the players鈥 headshots on the scoreboard. And on the popular 鈥淪imba Cam,鈥 they encourage parents to hoist their kids as Mufasa did in 鈥淭he Lion King.鈥
Image by Ed Brennen
Reynolds 鈥渉ad no idea鈥 what she wanted to do heading into college, but she knew she would have plenty of options at UML, where her older brother, James Reynolds, had earned a degree in graphic design in 2009.
鈥淚 got lucky and I found something,鈥 says Reynolds, who was drawn to the digital media program in particular. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been interested in photography and taking short videos, and that gave me a lot of hands-on experience.鈥
Working for the Spinners, Reynolds has realized that she also enjoys working in the entertainment field.
鈥淚 like being part of a live event, being part of all the moving pieces that the audience doesn鈥檛 necessarily see,鈥 says Reynolds, who also helps with the team鈥檚 digital advertising, marketing, ticket sales and social media.
May, meanwhile, says the internship opened her eyes to the different opportunities that she can have with graphic design.
Image by Ed Brennen
It wasn鈥檛 the right fit, however, so May transferred to UML her sophomore year. She tried majoring in business administration, but the 鈥渁rtsy鈥 voice in her head convinced her to pursue graphic design instead.
鈥淚 definitely feel like I鈥檓 in a good spot now,鈥 says May, who credits her Spinners internship for much of that good feeling.
鈥淏efore this internship, I felt a little confused and scared,鈥 May says. 鈥淏ut having this experience before my senior year has reassured me that I have gained a lot of skills through school. I feel more confident now.
鈥淎nd Erin is an awesome boss, so it worked out really well.鈥
