Falzone reflects on journey to Twins Stadium

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When asked about reflecting on her early failures Falzone says, Figure out your weeknesses." With the mindset theat self improvement is key she says, "

Chelsey Falzone presents to the Newspaper class with an odd blend of pride and humility, proudly displaying the photos she had taken of the Minnesota Twin’s baseball players, and yet adopting a serious and even slightly self-deprecating tone when she describes how she got to her position.

A graduate of SAHS, class of 2010, Chelsey Falzone is no stranger to hard work. Currently the Ballpark Operations Assistant for the Minnesota Twins Baseball Team at Target Field, Falzone knows the often understated value of good writing. Being a former member of the high school’s Pony Express Newspaper, she has learned a number of lessons throughout her life on how to be successful and distinguish yourself amongst hundreds of other job applicants.

“I was a sports nut,” Falzone said sheepishly, as she described her role on the Pony Express staff. As a Layout Editor for the Locker Room page for her junior year, and Co-Editor-in-Chief for her senior year, Falzone learned the skill of writing, which she says was invaluable to her future success.

“It is hugely important to know how to write,” Falzone said. “Without it, people have a hard time taking you seriously.”

If someone would have asked Falzone in her freshmen year college what she wanted to do for the rest of her life, she would have said journalism. Sports journalism seemed to be the perfect blend of newspaper and softball.

“That changed in my sophomore year,” Falzone said. “One of my teachers said ‘You sure love baseball, don’t you?’ and I replied ‘Like you wouldn’t believe.’”

As a softball player both in high school and in college, the sports have always been a part of her life, and now, her career.

“I’ve been a Twins fan since I knew what baseball was,” Falzone admits, “but loving baseball isn’t enough.”

Falzone was thus introduced to Erik Lovedahl, who is a batting practice pitcher for the Twins, and who ran the very Twins clinics she worked at. The conversation with him motivated her to apply for an internship with the Twins.

Falzone was a fan, a softball player, had worked at the MN Twins clinics for children, and was a good student.

“I thought I was the perfect candidate,” Falzone said. “Looking back, that maybe wasn’t the best approach to looking at it.”

The Twins never even called back for an interview. Discouraged, and even offended, Falzone was close to simply giving up that dream.

“I did a lot of self-reflection, self-critiquing” Falzone said, “The next year I applied for six internships, on everything from ground crew to stadium presentation. Most people just apply for one.”

Falzone simply wanted to be a part of the Twins, and after nearly a month of draining interviews, Falzone was offered the position of game productions intern. Looking back, Falzone states that she learned a lesson from this experience.

“We are all bad at something,” Falzone reflected. “Figure out what that is, be honest about it, its important to understand your weakness.”

By understanding her weaknesses Falzone believes she was successful at her job. As part of the game productions staff, Falzone had to manage what goes on the scoreboard, pre-game ceremonies, the script for the PA, and nearly everything that the public sees on the field.

As Falzone summed it up, “Game-time is showtime, and nothing stops.”

What Falzone considers to be the “fundamental building block” of her career was her work at the 2014 All Star Game at Target Field. She beams as she shows a picture of Derek Jeter as he gave his speech at the game, as she had the privilege to be right behind him. Falzone also got to write the introduction for Nelly, as well as stage manage both Idina Menzel and Adrian Peterson.”

“The most important things was that I never got starstruck,” said Falzone. “People will see right through you if you are affected by who is around you. I treated them like co-workers and they treated me like a co-worker. We made it work.”

That sense of humility is a big reason behind why Falzone believes she has been successful. Being able to recognize your errors and weaknesses is what Falzone believes is a great trait to have and one that marks you as different from the others to your bosses. This idea is so strong in Falzone that she believes it was the true reason she got hired, rather than her background.

“I am convinced it was not my intelligence that got my my job,” Falzone said. “And I’m not ashamed of that. It is my hard work and humility that got me my job.”

Falzone believes that such a sense of humility is rare in today’s society, and that it is why it is such a virtue to have. She also stresses the importance of networking in order to be successful, and believes that journalism was the best class she took as it prepared her with those skills.

“Introduce yourself to people with influence,” Falzone advised. “You don’t know how important that is. Find a way to talk to them, everybody is accessible.”

Hard work and humility have shaped Falzone into a successful woman with her dream job, and have allowed her job to take on a much more personal meaning to her.

“I walk into Target Field every single day. I wouldn’t never want to change that,” Falzone said. “The fields, the Twins. They both have my heart.”