You might say that Mia White has a pretty awesome job. Mia, who graduated in 2012 from CMU with a degree in economics, is currently a Business Analytics Assistant for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In other words, she is living every Pittsburgher’s dream: Andrew McCutcheon, Neil Walker, and the rest of the team are her co-workers, and going to every home game? That’s a job requirement.
Mia is a true Pittsburgher in the best sense of the term. She is hard working, dedicated, and loves her city. Mia said that her favorite thing about Pittsburgh is that despite it’s economics disparities and recent economic resurgence, it has maintained its identity. She loves the “close-knit feel” that comes from pride in the city. And of course, she loves the Pirates.
Mia’s work varies, depending on the season and playoffs. During the offseason, she works on projects wrapping up the season, preparing for PirateFest, and preparing for the next season by working on market research. Once the season begins, Mia works during the home games managing the Prize Wheel program with a staff of ten seasonal employees. During home games, Mia and her staff survey guests in the park on various topics including branding, marketing, and promotions. After each game day, she uploads all of the information we obtained and does reporting to analyze the demographics of those who played the Prize Wheel. For away games, she works in the office doing reporting on the Prize Wheel, ticket sales, and website analytics.
Being from Pittsburgh, Mia has always loved the Pirates, and Pittsburgh sports in general. In describing her favorite part of working for the Pirates, she said, “I love that I get to work for an organization that I personally feel so strongly about. I have never once gotten up and not wanted to go to work. Some days, I may have liked more sleep, but I love coming to work every day!”
Of course, being from Pittsburgh myself, I had to ask Mia about some of her more famous co-workers: the players. “Interacting with the players has been a really cool experience,” said Mia. “When I first began working for the Pirates seasonally in 2009, I would be so excited each time a player said “hi” to me in the hall. Now it has become somewhat of a norm, not that I take it for granted in any way! The players on the Pirates team are genuinely nice guys with good character and they display that often,” she said.
Mia also said that she often speaks Italian to pitcher Jason Grilli and attends Catholic mass with second-baseman Neil Walker and third-baseman Pedro Alvarez. “The biggest thing I’ve learned from interacting with the players,” said Mia, “is that they are just people. When I watch them play, I think of them personally based on my interactions with them. Talking with them has given me a different perspective on professional athletes in general.”
This season, the Pirates won their first playoff game in 21 years, and Mia was inside of the organization for all of the excitement that ensued. Mia said that working for the team during the playoffs was her proudest moment. “To see the support we got from the city, the other sports teams, and from people all around the country was amazing. Everybody was excited and nervous in the office, but we all enjoyed every minute of it,” she said.
Mia said that it was difficult to choose a favorite moment because the entire playoff run was so exciting, but the Wild Card game was her favorite. Describing the moment when the team clinched a playoff spot, Mia said, “It was a weight off our shoulders and we no longer had this hanging over our heads. I think the even better part about it was that we all realized this was not just a one-off season, to be followed by many more seasons of losing, but that it was a legitimate beginning to a new chapter in the organization. Being a part of it made it even more special.”
At CMU, Mia was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She said that being in a sorority gave her leadership, social skills, confidence, ambition, and perseverance that she otherwise would not have gained. “After being in a sorority where you are willingly participating in group activities like Greek Sing and Booth,” said Mia, “it really makes volunteering to help others out in real life a lot easier because it’s something you are already used to. You almost feel that it’s expected, but when your peers and superiors see you going out of your way to help out for the greater good, they take notice.” Mia said that this has already paid off for her on several occasions. Mia also said that her favorite thing about CMU during her time here was how challenging it was because it “pushes you to be as great as you possibly can.”