Agricultural Sciences

Student Stories: Turfgrass major interns with Spikes, goes to minors

When Sara Camuso turned 16, her father told her to get a job, or she would have to go to work with him.

“When I couldn’t find a job, I ended up working with my dad, who is a golf course superintendent,” recalls the 2008 Penn State turfgrass science graduate from Waynesboro, Pa. “By the end of the summer I really fell in love with what we were doing out there on the golf course.”

Camuso, who has been working on different sorts of playing fields since then, helped maintain all the playing fields on the University Park campus during her college days. Her senior year, she focused on a baseball diamond, interning on the grounds crew at Medlar Field, home to the Penn State varsity team and the State College Spikes minor league franchise.

Her job included tasks such as raking the mound and watering and grooming the infield before every game.

“The thing that I enjoy most about my work is getting everything prepped and looking perfect,” said Camuso. “That whole hour right before the first pitch, you can just feel the energy. It’s awesome.”

She has continued to feel that awesome energy in her professional career. Camuso currently is working as the sports turf manager at McCormick Field in Ashville, N.C., home of the Class A minor league baseball team, the Ashville Tourists, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The historic field, built in 1929 and renovated twice since, recently was named one of the best Class A baseball fields by ESPN.com and baseballparks.com. Scenes from the movie "Bull Durham" were shot there.

Sara Camuso at Medlar Field Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated November 18, 2010

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