CommRadio Member Spotlight: Zach Kaplan

Story posted June 28, 2018 in CommRadio by Matt Freiler

Throughout the summer, CommRadio will be highlighting its growing presence around the country by telling the stories of current members and their summer internship experiences.

Week 2: Zach Kaplan, Production Director

Kaplan is a junior from Needham, Massachusetts who aspires to be a play-by-play broadcaster or on-air personality. His experiences while in CommRadio include producing, broadcasting and beat writing Penn State football, basketball and hockey as well as several other sports while working behind the scenes to manage the station’s production department.
Internship: Beat Writer for the Cotuit Kettleers (Cape Cod Baseball League)

Duties: Write articles daily for the team, including features, game recaps, player profiles and notes; host of a half-hour long pregame show for each home game, which airs on our live stream.

Q & A with Kaplan:

Q: What has been your favorite part of the internship thus far?

“So far, I’ve enjoyed talking to the players and coaches, traveling to the games with the interns and being able to enjoy the summer on Cape Cod. Networking with other interns from the different teams.”

Q: Any good stories you can tell about your experience?

“I had the chance to chat with Baseball Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell and Peter Gammons, who both attended Opening Day at our ballpark. Both were just at the game as casual fans and talking to them made for a pretty cool first day of the season.”

Q: What’s life like in Cotuit?

“A lot quieter than State College (cue the laugh track). Cotuit itself is a quiet little village, but nothing beats Cape Cod in the summer. The beaches are beautiful, and aside from some rain (and fog that postponed a game), it’s been great down here. “

Q: What do you hope to accomplish the rest of the summer?

“I just want to keep developing experience in the field of sports writing. I’ve been able to enjoy great media access so far, and the players and coaches have been really accessible.”

 

Member spotlights are coordinated and written by social media director Matt Freiler. Freiler is a rising senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email psumatt95@gmail.com