CHICAGO – Work was wrapping up for Alyssa Bergamini, the White Sox in-stadium host at Guaranteed Rate Field, when her bosses, Dan Mielke and Jeff Szynal, asked her to stay after to discuss future scheduling.

The request had the feel of being called into the principal’s office, a smiling Bergamini said, and since she had never dealt with that sort of experience, she wasn’t sure what to expect. But no chastisement or criticism came her way.

It was just a chance being presented to make franchise history the next weekend as the White Sox first female public address announcer.

“They mentioned Gene Honda is not going to be here this weekend because he’s on assignment covering Illinois football, and he’s getting honored as an alum,” Bergamini said prior to a White Sox walk-off victory over Oakland. “They said this would be the perfect opportunity for you to be the public address announcer.

“And I said, 'I’ve never been the PA. I’ve done every job under the sun in sports media and this is one I’ve not done.’ Jeff turned to me and said, ‘You basically do this already. This will be easier than what you do on camera,’ which I disagree with. You will be the first female PA in franchise history for the White Sox. And I said, ‘Yep, I’m doing it,’ of course.”

Bergamini has been part of the White Sox organization for 11 seasons, starting in the Pride Crew and moving to on-field emcee in 2017. She has served as the host for various ballpark panels, has worked on the White Sox YouTube channel and has excelled on various media platforms across the city.

Not only did she step into uncharted waters this weekend as the PA announcer, but she temporarily replaced a legend in Honda, who has been in this role with the White Sox since 1985. Bergamini shadowed the ballpark voice for a legion of White Sox fans during a day game against the Guardians before taking over for a 2-0 loss vs. Oakland.

There’s another connection between the two, aside from being co-workers and friends, going back to Bergamini’s sophomore year at the University of Iowa.

“I had to write a profile piece on someone in sports media, and this was prior to me working here with the White Sox,” Bergamini said. “I got Gene’s contact information. I called him up and he gave me the best opportunity. I have this whole paper and the title is, ‘The man with the golden pipes.’

“My mom just found this and it’s crazy, because it’s kind of full circle. Here I am writing about him and I was able to sit in his seat. He was so cool with me doing this. We work together up there as a team. It’s fun to be on the other side. It’s not the easiest job. You really have to be focused and tuned in.”

Feedback has been excellent over Bergamini’s two days, as she admittedly tries to pump up the crowd when announcing the White Sox but dials it back slightly for the A’s. She announced No. 60, Justin Anderson, coming in to try to close out Saturday’s victory with a 6-3 lead in the ninth, which ultimately didn’t work out so well.

She also announced Andrew Benintendi coming to bat leading off the ninth, before he connected for the walk-off home run. Bergamini’s personal piece of history was temporarily supplanted by the end of the White Sox franchise-worst 16-game home losing streak.

“Every job I do is somewhat the same but oh, so different,” Bergamini said. “People are like, ‘You don’t have to be on camera.’ But being on camera doesn’t make me nervous.

“I know I have the scripts in front of me, but it’s making sure you are getting all the facts correct. I love them both, but I never thought I would do this. This was not on my bingo card of 2024.”