Winter 2014 Newsletter Extended: Jess Dudek
Live It, Protect It, Explore It!
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ALUMNI UPDATE: JESS DUDEK, A CHAMPIONSHIP DREAM
By: Alyssa Beatton (RPTA ’16), Staff Writer
Editors note: In the Spring/Summer 2012 edition of "The Report," we featured Jess Dudek and her work with professional baseball in Australia ("Alumni Spotlight: Home Runs in Australia"). Her story intrigued us then, and it inspires us now...
Most people working in the world of sports dream about landing a job working with their favorite team. A few of them, such as RPTA alumna Jess Dudek, get an opportunity that goes beyond dreams - working with her favorite team the year they bring home the World Series title.
After graduating from Cal Poly with a concentration in sport management in December 2009, Dudek worked hard at a number of jobs before taking on her current position with the Boston Red Sox. Her career path took her to several sports organizations, including Cal Poly Athletics and the San Luis Obispo Blues locally, and outside the area as well with the Sacramento River Cats Triple minor league affiliate and even marketing positions for professional baseball teams in Australia.
Since May 2013, she has been living in Boston and working for her favorite baseball team, which she describes as an absolute “dream come true!” She started her career working in the sales academy at Fenway Park, dealing with new season ticket holders, helping them choose their seats and their season ticket plans. She was promoted in December to group account executive, giving her more responsibilities and creativity in the ticket sales department. After the Red Sox won the World Series this past year, 
Dudek was able to continue to live the dream and walk alongside some of her favorite players in the World Series Parade. Many people work their entire careers in professional sports without experiencing a championship, so Dudek understands full well how special it was to be a part of a title run in her very first year.
The most important piece of advice Dudek has for current RPTA students is that the sports world is small, so it is important to create relationships with your supervisors and co-workers and work hard to maintain those relationships. Her success is yet another example of the high profile positions RPTA sees its graduates take, and we wish her nothing but the best as her career moves forward.
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