Springfield, Mass. - February 5, 2026 - Jack Dunaisky (Longmeadow, Mass.), a sport management major and senior on the Springfield College baseball team recently completed an internship with the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) and had the opportunity to volunteer at the historic Secretaries' Cup back in November, which was held at Fenway Park.
1. Talk about your role prior to the cup?
Prior to the Secretaries Cup, my role in terms of assisting during the preparation for the event was multi-faceted. I was fortunate enough to be a part of weekly team meetings where a majority of the logistics and planning for the event occurred, and the opportunity to not only listen to the behind the scenes of an event of that scale, but also add to the conversation if I had any thoughts, was a privilege I am very grateful for. Along with being a part of these meetings, I aided my supervisors in a number of other tasks they needed assistance with, as the nice part about having an intern from their end I'd imagine is the ability to let me take on more of the other organizational responsibilities when they were busy planning for such a large and crucial event like the Secretaries Cup.
2. Talk about your role on the day of the event?
On the day of the event, I was lucky enough to attend the event with my Mom, who is also a Red Sox fan, and is someone who has been there for me throughout my academic and athletic journey no matter what. So being able to bring her to something that I was involved with in terms of the planning process was an amazing experience. The cool and satisfying part of the event was that for me, but also my supervisors, was that the hard part of the event was everything prior to the actual day. For my supervisors, once the pre-game ceremonies were over, so was their day for the most part and they got to walk around and enjoy the game. For me, I took a few pictures for social media here and there, but other than that I also got to sit back and enjoy the game, which in case you missed it was a crazy game. Also, as my internship was remote, this was the first time I was able to meet a majority of my supervisors in person, which was awesome and all of them were amazing.
3. How has this experience influenced your future ?
For my future, this event has reinforced one certainty for me personally. As an athlete myself, being able to influence student-athletes in a positive way is my main goal. Whether it be as a coach, a sport communicator (shoutout max), or even eventually an athletic administrator, being in a position where I am bettering the life of people who are in the shoes I was once in is a huge motivator for me. I can't imagine how cool it was to play at Fenway Park, and that experience was made possible because of the NEWMAC, and this level of positive influence is something that I am striving to be able to achieve someday.
4. Being a baseball athlete and growing up a Red Sox fan, what was it like being apart of an event at Fenway?
Growing up, and still even now, Fenway has a sort of magic to it, and this stayed true for the Secretaries Cup. Having the opportunity to be close to the field and move around to sit in different sections of the stadium made the little kid in me happy, even in the cold New England November weather. I was also given a full-access media pass through the NEWMAC, which meant when the game ended I got to step on the field. I had never been on the playing surface itself before and may never do it again, so that was definitely pretty special.
