Major: Chemistry
Profession: Director of Amateur Scouting for the Boston Red Sox
Hometown: San Mateo, California
What are you doing now?
I’m honestly trying to get my feet under me. I was recently promoted to this role, but previously I was the assistant director of amateur scouting for the Red Sox, and that was helping support our draft efforts by not only finalizing how players are valued—and being involved in the decision-making process for who we were taking with a given pick—but also a lot of administrative responsibilities and staff oversight.
I’ve held onto a lot of those responsibilities as we continue to grow our department.
How did you get there?
It wasn’t the cleanest path from Pomona to a baseball front office. I took my chemistry degree and worked for a biotech company for three years—a startup doing cancer research. I was in the lab making chemicals and we were running a Phase II clinical trial for melanoma.
After a couple of years in the lab, I was eager for more. I wanted to continue to be challenged but also knew I didn’t want to be in the lab mixing chemicals for the rest of my life, so I reevaluated what I wanted to do.
I wanted to get into a more management type role, but I found it difficult to do that without getting an advanced degree. I knew I didn’t like chemistry that much to go the master’s or Ph.D. route, so I was fully prepared to go to business school. But that’s a very expensive way to figure out what I wanted to do.
Two of my teammates from Pomona were having successful careers in baseball, so I asked, “Why couldn’t that be me?” I picked their brains about how to get into the industry, and they pointed me in the correct direction. I started applying for internships and was fortunate enough to land one with the Red Sox going into the 2019 season.
How did Pomona prepare you?
Pomona challenged me in ways I’d never been challenged before. My dad liked to give me a hard time in high school about how I made things look very easy, and he said he noticed that change when I got to Pomona.
Between balancing the rigorous courseload and lab work that being a STEM major included, in addition to being an athlete, I really had to navigate things strategically. I didn’t know it at the time, but that set me up for success in whatever role I was in.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I would like to continue advancing up the front office ranks. But honestly, I’m very fortunate to have been promoted a couple times in what’s considered a short career in baseball. I’m focused on trying to be the best director of amateur scouting that I can be, nail these next couple drafts and help the Red Sox get back to a World Series title.
If I can do that, everything will take care of itself.
Any advice for current or prospective students?
Don’t be afraid to shoot your shot on your dreams. I didn’t know I wanted to work in baseball initially, I just followed a path I thought made sense—chemistry degree into a chem job, continue the academic route, invest in another degree, try to move up that way.
It was my dad who challenged me to take a shot and see if I could make baseball my career. If I was going to shuffle my life, why not go for the thing that made me happiest?
It felt like a longshot at the time, but I said why not, and I’m very fortunate that it all worked out. If I didn’t have that encouragement, or didn’t try, I can guarantee you I wouldn’t be here.