Nazareth Area High School graduate Connie Schwab plans homecoming with New York Yankees World Series trophy in tow

NAZARETH | Connie Schwab knew she was destined to wear pinstripes.

She just needed to convince everyone else of that.

Her quest began within her own family. As a young girl, Schwab longed to join her family's annual all-male New York Yankees spring training trip to Tampa.

Recognizing she knew more about the team than anyone else, the Tatamy native hatched a plan to outsmart the men. She challenged them to a Yankees trivia match with the caveat that if she won they had to expand the ranks of the trip to include her.

She easily won and blew her relatives away, recalled her father, Ray Schwab, with a laugh.

"I had to crawl and scrape my way to get the invite," Schwab, now 25, remembered. "And I don't think they regret it 'cause now they are turned around asking me for tickets."

Since 2006, she's been living out a dream she first put to paper her freshman year at Nazareth Area High School: working in the Yankees front office. On May 7, she will speak to Nazareth Area students during career day but she isn't coming alone.

Connie Schwab will be joined by the 2009 World Series trophy and its security handlers when she heads to the high school to share how she turned her graduation project into a career.

All district high school students have to complete a career research project to graduate, high school Principal Alan Davis said. In ninth grade, students explore chosen careers, in 10th grade they interview people in that career and in 11th grade the project culminates with job shadowing.

"It was great because it helped shape my path," Schwab said of the project. "I knew going into college to really take advantage of internships and how to get that ball rolling. Who knows if (without it) I would have ended up back at the stadium?"

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES