Texas Rangers News: names five students selected for 2024 Charley Pride Fellowship

By J.Y. Mortimer

A former part owner of the Texas Rangers, here is Charley Pride performing at the Republic Country Club in Stafford, Texas, in 2016. By Republic Country Club – IMG_5571, CC BY 2.0, https commons.wikimedia.org

Five college students from diverse backgrounds to begin summer internship in Rangers front office on Tuesday, May 28; Fellows will be recognized at Globe Life Field prior to May 28 Rangers-Diamondbacks game

 

May 22, 2024

 

Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation today announced the five students selected for the Charley Pride Fellowship Program Class of 2024. In its fourth year, the program will again see five college students from diverse backgrounds spend their summer working in the Texas Rangers front office for the unique internship.

Created in honor of the late country music star and close friend of the Texas Rangers organization, Charley Pride, the program aims to build a launching pad for students from diverse backgrounds looking to gain experience in a Major League Baseball front office.

The 2024 Charley Pride Fellows were selected after an extensive application and interview process by the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation Fellowship Selection Committee. They begin their paid internships at Globe Life Field on Tuesday, May 28, with the program concluding on Friday, August 2.

The Charley Pride Fellowship Program Class of 2024:

Charley Pride Fellow Hometown Year School
Katherine Comer Silver Spring, MD Junior University of Pennsylvania

Alexis Delagarza Vernon, TX Senior Dallas Baptist University

Cameron Marzell Irving, TX Senior Texas Southern University

Kyla Phillips Midlothian, TX Senior Michigan State University

Zech Robichaux San Antonio, TX Senior Huston-Tillotson University

The Foundation will hire, train, and support the five fellows as they rotate through three front office departments. The students will gain valuable skills during the 10-week program to equip them in their professional endeavors.

The Class of 2024 has identified baseball operations, business analytics, business partnerships, legal, marketing, REV Entertainment, and the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation as the departments in which they will rotate while employed this summer.

Roland Parrish, a prominent Dallas businessman and philanthropist, and his Parrish Charitable Foundation are partnering with the Rangers Foundation in the Charley Pride Fellowship Program for the fourth consecutive year.

Over the first three years of the fellowship program, 15 individuals have participated, receiving extensive experience in the baseball and business departments of the Rangers’ organization.

Several of the Charley Pride Fellows from the first three classes have already gone on to work in the sports and entertainment field, including Julian Braxton (Texas Rangers), Kendall Coleman (Milwaukee Brewers), Cornysia Island (Graduate Assistant Coach for University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Volleyball), Neemekh Mudvari (Telemundo Houston), David Simpson III (Washington Nationals), and Jordan Thomas (Long Island Nets).

Additionally, Class of 2023 fellow Josh Marcellus, a former Texas Rangers Youth Academy athlete and coach, was hired in a full-time position with the Texas Rangers’ REV Entertainment following his graduation from the University of North Texas.

The five students selected for the 2024 fellowship will be recognized during pre-game ceremonies at Globe Life Field on Tuesday, May 28, ahead of the Rangers-Diamondbacks game at 7:05 p.m.

Learn more about the Charley Pride Fellowship Program at rangers.com/charleypridefellowship.

About Parrish Charitable Foundation’s Fellowship Support:

Prominent businessman Roland Parrish continues his philanthropic and change-making mission in partnership with the Texas Rangers Foundation with the announcement of the Charley Pride Fellowship Class of 2024. The Parrish Charitable Foundation’s four-year, $250,000 commitment, established in 2021, offers students a chance to work in the Texas Rangers front office.

“We are proud to be aligned and serving the community with a progressive and forward-thinking organization like the Texas Rangers and its Foundation,” said Roland Parrish. “We were introduced to this opportunity four years ago. We saw the need, and we agreed to a four-year commitment. The program is creating opportunities for our participants. The internship is delivering results. We are having positive discussions about continuing our sponsorship of this program.”

COURTESY TEXAS RANGERS MEDIA RELATIONS

Posted in MLB