Bill Guider, the public relations manager and intern coordinator for the Danbury Westerners collegiate summer baseball team, brought on Newtown’s Veronica Rodriguez Castro, Sean Kaufmann and Charlotte Miller as interns, allowing them to gain real world experience as young adults during this past summer season.

Within each intern’s respective position, all three helped grow the franchise throughout the 2025 season, from expanding through social media to streaming games on ESPN+.

Rodriguez Castro, studying at Naugatuck Valley Community College, filled the broadcasting director internship, controlling the audio, mics, and cueing people on time.

“It’s really a whole band; you cannot do it alone. It’s mostly learning to coordinate in real time and a lot of problem-solving because things always go wrong at the last minute,” said Roriguez Castro when asked about the skills she learned from the internship.

“Your temper has to be level because it is stressful, it’s a multi-camera view, everything on your ears is happening four times more than what you see on TV, so if you see one screen, I’m looking at five, if you’re hearing one mic, I’m controlling five behind, so its multitasking at the best level,” Rodriguez Castro added.

Rodriguez Castro is no ordinary student, as she traveled from Colombia to the United States in 2016, stayed for two years and officially moved in November 2021 with little experience in sports and livestreaming games.

“I feel that culturally, I’m a little behind in the sports world. I think your educational system gives access to sports and a lot of information. In Colombia, we do [cover sports] but if you’re interested in it and it was never my passion,” said Rodriguez Castro.

During Rodriguez Castro’s time with the Westerners, language challenged her. This did not stop Rodriguez Castro, as she grew throughout the summer, asking questions and learning from others.

“I feel pretty confident with English but working in English while making quick decisions with everything live, that was a lot for my brain, trying to stop translating and focusing and catching up at the same time understanding and giving commands,” Rodriguez Castro said.

“In general, I was the newest of all and I put that on the table since the beginning because I wanted them to know that I would have questions and that I will be approaching them,” Rodriguez Castro added.

Regardless of needing to overcome challenges, hiring Rodriguez Castro was a no-brainer for Guider.

“Although Veronica didn’t have much experience as a livestream director, I knew she wasn’t afraid to step out of her comfort zone. I was sure she would excel in this demanding position. Her selection as livestream director for the NECBL All-Star Game confirmed my expectations,” Guider said.

Kaufmann, a rising sophomore at Ithaca College, joined as a videographer, interviewing and filming a variety of videos for the Westerners that will be used for the 2026 season.

“What my job entails is that I record footage of games and create highlight reels for [the Westerners’] Instagram, showing the player, either up at bat or on the field, and choosing some of the best plays that they make and compiling them into a quick video,” Kaufmann said.

“In addition, I will do interviews with interns, host families and fans just to get a read of what they like about the Westerners’ games or working for them,” he added.

In filming, creativity is what separates the good from the great and making something unique with originality is what keeps fans interested in the content. Throughout the summer, Kaufmann learned and developed exactly that, keeping fans on their toes with different edited videos.

“By being purposeful with what I shoot, not everything I record ends up in the final product … people want to see that action whether it be someone stealing a base, someone hitting a home run or getting someone out,” Kaufmann said.

“Also, getting the opportunity to have a lot of creative control when it comes to the video creation process, it helps me prioritize how things should look and how things should come off to the audience to make sure they’re not bored with the video,” he added.

Depending on the video type (highlights, intern interviews), editing can consume 30 minutes to an hour, and it can take up to a week and a half to two weeks for planning and interviewing.

For Kaufmann, deadlines do not play a major role, as most of his content won’t be posted until October 2025.

“Our fans have seen only brief glimpses of his work in his weekly highlight videos, his first hype video, and the end of season thank you to our fans. Most of his work won’t be seen until recruiting for 2026 begins in October,” Guider said.

Deadline flexibility sounds great in any workplace but for Kaufmann, submitting work early was something he made clear.

“I made it a point to tell [Guider], I have no problem working on these videos on my off days and getting them to you when they’re ready,” Kaufmann said.

“There was no need to wait until the end [of the season], when if they’re done and they can be posted, why not turn them in early,” he added.

Kaufmann’s work, connecting with fans through social media, recruiting interns and hosting families, struggled in past years. This year, the sophomore’s dedication exceeded Guider’s expectations.

“Sean was asked to fill a position where we failed previously. He is a self-starter who pays attention to the details and wasn’t deterred by the fact that his work will be largely unseen until months after his internship ends. His videos will be an important addition to our host family and intern recruiting,” Guider said.

As Kaufmann’s career continues, developing creative projects is an aspiration for his future.

When it came to covering baseball games, Miller, a rising junior at Newtown High School, stepped up.

With the responsibility of previewing and recapping the Westerners’ matchups, Miller discussed topics most fans would not notice.

“I collect interviews and write about not necessarily the players but more of the behind-the-scenes, like people working for the Westerners,” Miller said.

In journalism, writing is not as easy as it seems, as strengthening and improving writing skills while following Associated Press style rules takes practice. As a young high school student, understanding the fundamentals sooner than later is important, as the competition in journalism continues growing.

“I think it improved my grammar a lot, considering I am a high school student, and it made me become more of a people person,” said Miller when asked how the internship developed her skills.

Unlike Rodriguez Castro and Kaufmann, Miller cannot drive yet as she is too young, but with the help of family members and Guider’s understanding, everything worked out.

“It was kind of difficult, and the field was around 30 minutes from my house, but it wasn’t necessarily too difficult because my older brother [Hayden Miller] played for the team, so he sometimes could give me a ride,” Miller said.

Miller’s writing impressed Guider and bringing her into the fold was a must.

“Charlotte was finishing her sophomore year at Newtown High School when she approached me about the journalist position. Since this is not a mission critical position for each game her dependence on others for transportation was an issue we could work around. Her writing is better than that vast majority of what I get from college students, so I wanted to add her to our team,” Guider said.

Miller’s career is just beginning and the future writer looks to stay in sports journalism.

All three interns helped make the fans’ game experience that much better while they gained valuable experience for their career endeavors.

Anyone interested in the 2026 internship program may email bill@danburywesterners.com.

Tyler Pruneau is a journalism student at University of Connecticut interning with The Newtown Bee this summer. He can be contacted through editor@thebee.com.