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St. Cloud State University
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SCSU grad hears 'you're hired'
By Derek Sullivan
Published:
Monday, February 7, 2005
Media Credit: Adam Hammer
Caitlin Lerfald recently traveled to Oakland, Calif. to try and win an internship with the Golden State Warriors of the NBA. The December 2004 SCSU grad left the contest to take over as Assistant General Manager for the St. Cloud River Bats.
Caitlin Lerfald's promotion from summer intern to the River Bats' front office was smooth, if you don't count a 2,000-mile detour into the NBA.
The December 2004 SCSU grad, like many college students, dreamed of living on the west coast. Lerfald also wanted to work in professional sports. When the Golden State Warriors came calling, she could not turn the opportunity down.
The Warriors offered 10 motivated sports fans a chance to be an intern for a major professional team. Much like the NBC reality television show "The Apprentice," one contestant would be eliminated at the end of each episode. The final contestant would be named "The Intern." When Lerfald noticed the online ad, she immediately applied.
"I loved 'The Apprentice' and was looking for a west coast internship," Lerfald said. "So I decided to send a video in."
The Warriors were quickly impressed by the SCSU student, but doubted she would travel across the country.
"She was the only one we picked from (outside California). A lot of people from out of state applied, but she was the only one we picked," said Danny Zuller, assistant manager of game operations for the Warriors. "To be honest, we didn't think she would come."
Lerfald did make the trip to Oakland and immediately noticed her work habits were far superior to her California counterparts.
"I noticed that California people were slow and lazy," Lerfald said. "They didn't seem to have the same work ethic. People from the Midwest just work faster."
Lerfald made the cut on the first show by using her experience with the River Bats to sell Warriors tickets.
The contestants were asked to sell tickets for student's night. While most contestants went to local colleges to find ticket buyers, Lerfald instead headed to sports bars.
"I know from working with the River Bats that college kids aren't going to spend $30 on tickets," she said.
In the next weeks, she worked with her team to put together an Ebay competition where a small business could bid for a spot on the new team scoreboard. Another task required her team to put together care packages for troops in Iraq.
Halfway through the competition, she got another call from River Bats owner Joel Sutherland asking if she would return to Minnesota.
Last season's general manager Scott Schreiner left to work for the Des Moines Buccaneers, a junior 'A' hockey team. Marc Jerzak, last season's assistant general manager, moved up to replace Schriener and Sutherland immediately considered Lerfald for the assistant GM position.
"We tried to work something out last fall. But she had interest in pursuing something else," Sutherland said. "We thought we would give it one last shot and see if she wants to come back."
Fortunately for the Riverbats, Lerfald had grown tired of California and was ready to return. After a couple of weeks in the NBA, she realized it was not the place for her.
"You think working in the major leagues would be great, but it was not what I expected. You just sit in a cubicle and do the same thing every day," Lerfald said. "They called and asked me to come back and give (being assistant general manager) a shot. They felt I was qualified so I decided to give it a try."
Lerfald offered to be fired from the program, but the Warriors already decided to let another person go. So she was able to leave the program without hearing those two dreaded words.
Lerfald will begin her job as an SCSU graduate. She was on track to graduate in December, but going out to Oakland last fall could have thrown a wrench in her plans. After talking with advisors, she had all but given up on graduating. She decided to contact SCSU professor Paula Weber to see if she could complete her final class, strategic management, from California. Weber and Lerfald were able to work together and the new assistant GM got her degree in Management.
"I didn't think I would be able to graduate after speaking to a couple of professors," Lerfald said. "Then I spoke to Weber and she was so helpful. I wouldn't have been able to finish school without her."
Lerfald looks to become another SCSU grad that used the local minor league team as the starting point to a long career in sports management. Sutherland said the baseball organization has helped many St. Cloud students get a start in baseball.
"We have pulled a lot from (SCSU)," Sutherland said. "It has been a springboard for some pretty nice careers."
The list includes Tina Gust, assistant director of licensing for minor league baseball; Vern Stenman part owner and general manager of Madison Mallards; and Ryan Voz, part owner and general manager of the Alexandria Beetles.
Lerfald will now oversee the promotion and hospitality of staffs and handle corporate sales, including the Bat Cave. Sutherland believes her past performance proves she can handle the added responsibility.
"Caitlin really proved herself by taking charge," Sutherland said. "She has the ability to communicate with CEOs, fans, the whole spectrum of people at the ballpark."
