Dressing up as mascot for an independent minor league baseball team may not be easy and takes a lot of enthusiasm. Tyler Kimmel knows firsthand.

Kimmel, a graduate of SHS, had an internship with the Washington Wild Things this summer. Kimmel’s experiences were funny and unforgettable.

“They called me the utility intern, because I did a little bit of everything,” said Kimmel. “I wrote articles that were published on their web site.”

Kimmel says that “when they found out that I had a vibrant personality, they had help the Wild Crew with the between inning promotions and games. I was a mascot for a number of games as well.”

Kimmel even had his own promotion with the Wild Things, which was called “What would Tyler do?”

“Fans would vote on what they would want me to do, like chug hot sauce. If I didn’t complete the challenge, I would get pied in the face with by the mascot” said Kimmel.

Besides being an entertainer, Kimmel a senior at California University of Pennsylvania, is the sports editor for the Cal Times and majors in journalism while he minors in creative writing.

“I’ve had a great experience so far at Cal,” said Kimmel. “I’ve learned a lot and made great friends and memories.”

Kimmel’s roots of writing began in high school.

“I knew when I loved to write when I took Journalism I in high school. We did writing exercises, wrote stories, and learned the fundamentals of journalism. It was easy, something I was good at, so that made it easy to fall in love with writing and journalism,” said Kimmel.

Kimmel said his high school journalism teacher has helped him become the writer he is today.

“My high school journalism teacher, Mr. Chuck Brittain, taught me a lot about journalism,” said Kimmel. “He helped me create a strong foundation in writing.”

“He was an excellent student,” said Brittain. “He had a good work ethic, inquistive and very open to suggestions in his writing and for that reason, he did very well.”

Kimmel’s is looking for a future full of more opportunities in journalism.

“I’m interested in jobs with newspapers, web sites, or a professional sports organization, like the Wild Things,” said Kimmel. “I was considering to going to graduate’s school, but at this point, I don’t see that happening.”