When Alex Penilla (Delta Kappa/Ball State 2017) learned that he had been selected for an internship with the Indiana Pacers, he had no idea that his experience would be so out of the norm.
“The training I underwent when I began my internship was definitely not standard,” said Penilla. “Training began with a scavenger hunt around Banker’s Life Fieldhouse- all levels of the building – to familiarize myself with the building and where certain areas were. It was a fun way to begin – different – and I got to see areas that everyday fans didn’t get to see and learn while I was doing it. I also got to familiarize myself with all of the different folders, drives and programs that were used on my work computer such as Microsoft Excel and Outlook,” he continued.
For his internship, Penilla worked in the Corporate Sponsorships department.
“A typical day at the office would start for me at 1 p.m. and end at 5 p.m.,” said Penilla. “When I got to work, I would clock in and then go check my work email. I would get emails from different people inside the marketing department that would need help on tasks such as mailing things out, preparing promotional items like parachutes with coupons attached to drop from the rafters on game days. I would also prepare work schedules for game days so everyone in the department would know what they were doing,” he said.
Each game day was different according to Penilla.
“On game days, I would begin getting all promotions ready for the night. If one lucky row won earbuds from Klipsch, I would get those all ready and bring them up to the lucky row to distribute to the ‘Boom Babies’ (Pacemates) to distribute to those fans,” said Penilla. “I also did things like escort the ‘Finish Line Ball Kid’ and his/her family down on to the court before the game to shoot around and get a picture with his/her favorite Pacer. I would set-up before the game and tear-down after the game the backdrops for in-game promotion which included banners that were used in the backgrounds of interviews with the head coach, Pacemates, and for one promotion I even dressed up as a giant slice of pizza! The bigger games such as Pacers vs. Hornets when Lance Stephenson returned to Indiana or a matchup like Pacers vs. Cavaliers (LeBron James) would be a lot more in-depth with more giveaways and offers because more people will come to the games,” said Penilla.
I’m sure there are a lot of good memories, but what was your best moment interning for the Pacers?
“My best moment while interning with the Indiana Pacers was probably their annual golf outing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway back in September,” said Penilla. “This event is put on by the Pacers and has all their big sponsors come out and play a round of golf while getting to interact with the players. I enjoyed this event because I got to talk to some of the players and received a Pacers gift bag with clothes and other memorabilia to take home. It was a really cool opportunity that most people never get,” he said.
After your experience, have you considered pursuing a permanent position with the Indiana Pacers organization?
“After working as an intern with the Pacers, I would consider a career working with the Pacers. On the first day, my boss took me around the Marketing department to shake hands and meet everyone. The amount of people I met who once had an internship with the Pacers was astounding, so I feel like they are more inclined to hire people that have experience working with them as interns in the past,” said Penilla. “I also felt like it was one big happy family when working with them. The relationships they had with one another were not only professional, but friendly. They were able to joke around with each other while also acting professional and enjoying what they do,” he added.
Would you recommend doing an internship with the Indiana Pacers to your brothers at Theta Chi?
“I would highly recommend obtaining an internship to my Theta Chi brothers because of how great the Indiana Pacers organization is with their interns,” said Penilla. “They treated me like a part of the team, not just as an intern. They were very flexible with schedules and really wanted me to succeed and learn a lot while I was there. I interned with the Indiana Pacers as a sophomore in college, so the sky is the limit with them. Interning with the Pacers has been one of the best things I have done in my academic career,” Penilla concluded.
