Jaycee Baca’s Sacramento River Cats jersey is a walking ad for NUSD college and career readiness: She works for the team now, thanks largely to skills gained in Inderkum High’s Broadcast Media program.
“I love it,” Jaycee said of her part-time job on the River Cats’ broadcast team, which she landed several weeks ago.
“I’d tell all the incoming sophomores and juniors – take Broadcast Media,” she added. “You won’t regret it.”
Baca’s hiring by the River Cats marks the start of what both the team and NUSD intend as a partnership in which other local broadcast students could be considered for jobs in baseball seasons to come.
“That’s our intention, to work with the school to see if we can get some students on next year,” said Isabella Guedes, the River Cats’ Human Resources manager. “(Students) are the future, so it’s a win-win.”
To showcase the possibilities, Inderkum broadcast leader Melissa May led a field trip this week in which 27 of her students toured the Raley Field TV production control room, where team officials explained what skills are needed for employment.
“It’s a great motivator for students, who see this and think, ‘Wow, I could be here, I could do this – that’s why I need to work on my skills,’” May said.
May’s message to students is that they need to be proficient in many aspects of broadcasting, not just in front of the camera but behind it as well, editing, directing, videotaping, multi-tasking.
Inderkum’s broadcast students already use some of the production equipment used by the River Cats, and most of the team’s games are held at night and don’t conflict with classes, May said.
“The experience is tremendous,” she said of a part-time River Cats job. “To get a paid job in high school with a professional TV production is almost unheard of. (Jaycee’s) is a paid job. She can put that on her resume.”
Jaycee works in the River Cats’ control room, helping to present messages or data visible on the field to fans in the stands. She dreams of a career in professional sports someday, as a commentator.
Meanwhile, she’s grateful for every minute at Raley Field.
“I love the people, the view – Friday and Saturday nights, there’s fireworks, that’s beautiful,” Jaycee said. “It’s one of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen. I get the whole view of Sacramento. I love the pyramid, the bridge, downtown. It’s amazing.”
