Physical Education teacher Melissa Fustino is known for being an excellent gym teacher; however, she is also an award-winning security guard at Fenway Park.
Fustino, who has been working security at Fenway Park for 21 years, received the Red Sox Employee of the Year award. The Red Sox organization recognizes the best gameday employee with this award yearly. The award comes with public recognition at Fenway Park and an all-expenses-paid trip to Spring Training.
Fustino loves her job in security, but it wasn’t her initial career choice.
“When I went to college, I had to do an internship,” Fustino said. “The internship led to a job down in [Red Sox] Spring Training, but I wanted to come back up [to Boston] and the only thing open at the time was security.”
It turned out Fustino was quite adept at what she considered her last-resort job, staying with it for over two decades and ultimately receiving the organization’s highest honor for an employee. While it was apparent to most that she was capable of winning the award, Fustino didn’t see it coming.
“I was actually shocked,” Fustino said. “I think I said to my boss, ‘Are you sure?'”
He was sure, and along with a trip to Spring Training next year, Fustino was honored on the field before a Red Sox game.
“My mom came in for it,” Fustino said. “We could go down onto the field [where] she and I got pictures. She got inside the [Green] Monster.”
Over the course of her time with the Red Sox organization, Fustino has gotten to meet famous athletes and all-time favorite actor Tom Welling, hold the World Series trophy and be on the Duck Boats at the Red Sox World Series Parade. Despite these experiences, the reason she keeps coming back is the people she works with.
“I just finished my 21st season, so I’ve known some of these people for 20 years and they’re all great,” Fustino said.
In Fustino’s 21 years at Fenway, 18 of those have been working at the Dell Technologies Club, which was founded in 2006.
“It’s one of the most premium areas of the park that we have, and I’m there to make sure people who are supposed to be in the club are able to come into the club and then just monitor it in case there are any issues,” Fustino said.
Fustino’s close friends and fellow Physical Education teachers Kristen Morcone and Andrew Kinney attended the Red Sox game where Fustino was recognized. They both believe that Fustino is a terrific candidate for the award.
“[She is] someone that puts 100% effort into whatever she does, and the Red Sox are something that she’s very passionate about,” Morcone said.
While Fustino tends to stay out of the spotlight, she couldn’t help but be proud of the recognition.
“Usually I try to downplay a lot of things; I try to stay in the background,” Fustino said. “I don’t like to be on the forefront of stuff, but this is the biggest honor you can get for a gameday employee.”
