FIELD OF DREAMS

Sarena Espinoza is living her dream as the community-affairs manager for the Colorado Rockies. With decades of experience playing softball and a Sport Management degree from Metropolitan State University of Denver, she’s not only fulfilling her goal of working in sports but actively giving back to the community.

Espinoza credits her parents for putting her on the path to that dream. They didn’t get to go to college, but they gave her opportunities by paying for softball lessons and instilling a strong work ethic.

When Espinoza was a senior in high school, she was invited to visit MSU Denver and was offered a softball scholarship. “The opportunity to play softball in college — I just couldn’t pass it up,” she said. “What really drew me to the University was the Sport Management program. I wanted to work in sports, and being in a city that had several professional sports teams … it all just made sense.”

Espinoza enrolled in 2014. Besides softball, she committed to her studies and worked in the University’s Athletics Department, where she learned “what it takes to make it in sports.”

In 2018, an opportunity presented itself. The Rockies contacted MSU Denver, hoping to find a 50/50 Raffle coordinator. Espinoza, who was nearing graduation, applied. “Something just told me I had to trust it and go for it,” she said. “It was baseball. It was my dream.”

In the months that followed, Espinoza helped establish the 50/50 Raffle, a fundraising program that benefits the Colorado Rockies Foundation and MSU Denver students. MSU Denver volunteers facilitate the raffle at Coors Field during home games. Each game, half of the jackpot goes to one lucky fan, and the other half is split between the foundation and the University.

Now in her seventh season with the Rockies, Espinoza also relishes overseeing the team’s popular youth baseball and softball camps. She feels a strong sense of purpose and gratitude from her work.

“Everything I’ve earned and where I’m at in my life now is because of those decisions and making a leap,” she said. “I’m sitting here looking at Coors Field right now, feeling very grateful.”