Bodie DeSilva, ’15, Transitions from Padres Internship to NASCAR

09/16/2011 8:50 PM

DeSilva gets start on sports communication career with Padres, NASCAR

James “Bodie” DeSilva just started his degree in sports communication this year, but has already landed his first gig in professional sports. This past summer, he was a Major League Baseball batboy.

“Being a batboy for the San Diego Padres was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. It was something that I had wanted to do for years, so it was a dream come true to do something that you love and get paid for it,” DeSilva said.

With the experience, he also made a very important professional connection who assured DeSilva he was making the right decision by leaving sunny California to come to Bradley.  “Once I got the job with the Padres I had already decided to come to Bradley to study sports communication, but then I met the Padres announcer, Andy Masur, who graduated from Bradley. He further convinced me that I’d made the right decision,” DeSilva said.

 DeSilva chose Bradley not only because of his desired major but also because of the opportunities he knew a Bradley Experience would provide.

“I chose Bradley because of the sports communication program and the opportunities that came along with it, like the NASCAR Sprint Cup event, and experiential learning like the Italy soccer trip in spring 2011 and the 2012 Olympics in London,” DeSilva said.

For a weekend in September, DeSilva and a seven other students in the sports communication program assisted the No. 37 Bradley University Ford Fusion race team at the Chicagoland Sprint Cup event. The students assisted the team with producing press releases, website content and more. DeSilva will give tours of the pit and garage area. 

Experiences at Bradley such as this are not the only ones that DeSilva has under his belt to help him out in the future. During his junior and senior years of high school he announced some football and baseball games. He hopes to blend that experience, his Bradley education and his Padres connection to achieve his ultimate career goal.

“I plan on using my degree to get into play-by-play broadcasting and hope to announce baseball, basketball and football. My ultimate goal is to one day become the television play-by-play broadcaster for the Padres,” DeSilva said.

Story  by Ivy Hillman ’12