My First Job

The driver's license I earned during 10th grade afforded me the freedom to get a job during 11th grade that mom didn't have to be responsible for getting me to. In the spring of my junior year, our city opened a new baseball stadium that would be home to a minor-league affiliate team. Starting from scratch meant they were hiring everything from grounds-keepers to concessionaires, but a family friend knew someone on the management staff, and let me know they’d be hiring high school kids to work as ushers, checking tickets, directing traffic, etc. I applied, interviewed, and snagged my first job on my first try!


Ushers were positioned in each seating section from fence to fence along the 1st and 3rd baselines. Section assignments depended on two variables: age (high school kids couldn’t work after 9pm, so groupings that would create gaps were avoided) and personality (interaction with fans was encouraged: season-ticket-holders and “regulars” knew their usher staff, and ushers assisted with involving fans in promotions). I started out toward third base, but soon moved behind the plate as I demonstrated my rapport with fans and teamwork with other ushers to promote fan-participation. A couple high school friends worked with me, and I made new friends quickly too. We’d team up for the YMCA, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, and even a country line dance now and then between innings. It wasn’t a huge money-maker, since I only worked 2-3 hours a night and home games could be as few as 2 or 3 nights a week, but it was a ton of fun.

Me with some usher friends (whose identities I'm obscuring since we're not still in touch to get their permission).

When the season ended in the fall, I stayed on with the organization in a retail position. The team had a retail cart in the local mall to promote team merchandise during the holiday season. I didn’t enjoy the retail work as much, as the cart business was pretty slow and shifts were hard to come by, but it was nice to have a little Christmas cash. After the holidays, the management geared up for the second season by launching a telemarketing campaign to sell season tickets. I tried my hand at that as well, and while I had my share of grumpy responses, I also spoke with many community members who expressed pride in the team even if they weren’t interested in purchasing tickets. We used a conference room as a call center and we’d work in shifts of 8 or 10 at a time, which led to some good laughs over the toughest sells, rudest responses, and biggest successes.

Part of an on-field cheer in season 2.

Prior to the start of the second season, the management decided to have auditions for a squad of cheerleaders to lead promotions and represent the team at local events. The squad was composed of a self-starting group of college cheerleaders during the first season, and they were popular enough to open auditions to usher staff and new applicants. I tried out with several of my usher friends, and only some of us made the team, which was a little disappointing – some relationships were strained. As a team of 10, we got unique uniforms, attended rehearsals to learn and practice routines, and participated in more promotions on and off the field. I had given up on my cheerleading aspirations back in junior high, but this was less about tumbling and stunts and more about real cheer. It was an awesome way to spend my last summer at home.