FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2014
WINTHROP, Mass. – The Great Northeast
Athletic Conference is pleased to announce its team of specialists
for the 2014-15 academic year, the league office announced on
Monday. The yearly specialists are Jake
Cintolo, Jordan Haghighi,
Kevin McCluskey and Rebecca
Mullen, as each individual carries a unique skillset
that will help the GNAC grow and develop in many different facets
this upcoming year.
“We are extremely excited about this year’s crop of
specialists,” said GNAC commissioner Joe
Walsh, who is entering his ninth year with the
conference. “Our specialists’ program helps provide
young people with opportunities to jumpstart careers in college
athletics, and we are proud to continue on with that focus in
2014-15.”
Cintolo (pictured, right), a 2014 graduate of Suffolk University,
joins the GNAC team as a Marketing Specialist. The Wrentham, Mass.
native graduate cum laude and was a four-year starter of the
Rams’ baseball program, which posted a 99-73-2 mark in that
span. The first baseman/third baseman was a two-time Capital One
Academic All-District selection and owns the program record for
career hits (242) and doubles (63).
Named the 2011 GNAC Baseball Rookie of the Year, Cintolo hit .427
as a freshman and finished his career with a .364/.450/.502 slash
line in 654 at-bats spanning 173 games. He also played summer
collegiate ball in the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL)
and the Valley Baseball League, where he was named a 2013 All-Star.
Cintolo will be responsible for identifying and recruiting
potential corporate partners, as well as the marketing and
promotion of the 2015 GNAC Baseball Championship.
Haghighi (not pictured), who is originally from the Miami, Fla.
area, is a 2012 graduate of Stonehill College and comes aboard as a
Communications & Public Relations Specialist. He played varsity
men’s tennis for the Skyhawks, a member of the NCAA Division
II Northeast-10 Conference, during his collegiate career and
currently works for The Home for Little Wanderers in the
Greater Boston area.
During his time at Stonehill, Haghighi (pronounced
HA-gee-gee) spent two years as the sports editor of
The Summit, the school’s official student newspaper.
The Norwood, Mass. native has also written for other publications
and also carried out an internship at Comcast SportsNet New England
(CSNNE) in Burlington, Mass.
McCluskey (pictured, left), a 2012 graduate of Nazareth College
in Rochester, N.Y., joins the staff as the GNAC’s Sports
Information Specialist. A native of Hingham, Mass., McCluskey
earned his degree in Business Administration with a specialization
in Sports Management. Outside of the GNAC, he currently works in
sales as well.
While at Nazareth, McCluskey was heavily involved in the athletic
department’s game operations staff and was named Student
Director of Game Management his senior year. He also spent his
winter breaks in a game operations role at Harvard University,
providing him the opportunity to work within a Division I athletic
department. During home Boston Red Sox games, you will find Kevin
in the stands selling food and drink at Fenway Park, as he has
worked there for Aramark the last decade.
Mullen (pictured, center), a Peabody, Mass. native and 2013
graduate of Worcester State University, comes aboard as the
conference’s Special Events Specialist. She earned a Bachelor
of Science in Criminal Justice and Urban Studies at Worcester
State, where she served as Vice President of the Student Athletic
Advisory Committee (SAAC) for two years. In that position, she
coordinated different special events, including a Special Olympics
Basketball tournament.
Academically, Mullen was a tutor for math and criminal justice
throughout her four years on campus, and on the field she was a
member of the Lancers field hockey and women’s lacrosse
teams. Her sophomore year, the Worcester State field hockey program
was honored for having the highest grade point average of all
Division III programs across the country. After college, Mullen was
invited to play for with USA International Athletes in a Friendship
Series for Field Hockey in Scotland. Outside of the GNAC, Mullen
currently works as an Assistant Manager for the Department of
Conservation and Recreation in Massachusetts.
This upcoming year, the interns will also serve as the
“Commissioner's Kitchen Cabinet,” helping to brainstorm
and provide input to the commissioner on relevant student-athlete
topics, such as social networking, sportsmanship and health and
welfare.
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is
an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions
across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and
administers 17 championships for thousands of student-athletes,
while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and
community involvement.
– #theGNAC –