Editor’s Note: This is the 12th in a series of articles about students in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications completing summer internships.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sometimes life throws you a curveball even during a simple game of catch.
During his first year of college, some friends at Penn State asked Qianyi Wang, who goes by Allen, if he wanted to play catch. Growing up in China, Wang was unfamiliar with baseball, so he thought he’d give it a try. From then on, his fondness for the sport grew, and this past summer the Penn State junior completed an internship with the State College Spikes.
Originally a marketing major, Wang found a passion for production. He wanted to be part of a team that brings entertainment to the masses. He switched his major to telecommunications and media industries and found a home in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.
“I love making live shows or short films or movies, those kinds of things,” Wang said. “It started out as a hobby for me. I used to make videos and do the editing and share with friends.”
While learning the technical stuff in the classroom, Wang also was appreciating the magic of America’s pastime. He started to regularly watch Major League Baseball games and it didn’t take long to find a favorite team.
“The Dodgers were in the World Series in 2020, so I became their fan immediately,” he said.
Taking a swing at production
Pairing his longtime passion for production with his new interest in baseball made sense. Luckily, Penn State has a baseball stadium — Medlar Field at Lubrano Park — on its University Park campus. Wang started his internship in March working the camera at Nittany Lion baseball games. He continued his role in June with the Spikes. He and a team of interns ran cameras, controlled the switcher, and became a big part of summer fun in Happy Valley.
“It’s like being a director,” Wang said about running the switcher. “You say, ‘Now I’m taking camera one or camera three. You follow the baserunner if he’s stealing. Or if something is happening in the stadium that can catch the audience’s eyes, I’ll switch to that.”
A big part of the internship was rotating through different positions in the stadium and in the studio. Wang said he enjoyed collaborating with the other interns. He said they all started the season “not knowing anything,” but have become a formidable production team over the summer months.