Working at a cash register doesn’t usually lead to a career, but Wareham native Ryan Delgado is smart enough to spot an opportunity when it walks through the door.

While Delgado, a Wareham native, was working as a cashier at Flagship Cinemas, Tom Curran, WEEI commentator and host of the Patriots Insider show, dropped in to see a movie.

Rather than asking for an autograph, Delgado did some networking.

“I was working at the movie theater at Flagship. We made connection there, and I gave him a couple of free tickets,” said Delgado.

The now 21-year-old Wentworth Institute of Technology senior parlayed that chance encounter into an internship with Comcast SportsNet New England for the spring, 2012 semester.

“I inquired with him, and he got me in touch with the right people at Comcast SportsNet,” the business management major said. “It was probably about a month later.”

Delgado then landed a co-op gig with the Atlanta Hawks, which he wrapped up last month.

As an intern, he put together highlight reels and ran a teleprompter for news shows, among numerous other tasks.

Along the way, he discovered that there’s far more to producing a show than the viewer at home can see from his or her recliner.

“It was kind of like non-stop movement," Delgado said. "There was always something to do.”

Occasionally, he would even get to partake in the broadcast end of the business.

“The coolest thing was when I got to go to Fenway with a camera," he said.

Delgado sat in the press box and assisted in post-game interviews. One of his tasks was to hold a microphone up to former Red Sox player (and current New York Yankee) Kevin Youkilis.

Delgado is now on the verge of graduation, but, like many students, the path he started out on his freshman year is not the path on which he stayed.

After graduating from the Environmental Technology program at Upper Cape Regional Technical High School, Delgado moved on to Wentworth intent on becoming a civil engineer.

“I kind of did a 180,” said Delgado. “I came to Wentworth for civil engineering, but it just didn't work out. … I did what I needed to do to play baseball and to stay here.”

Delgado decided that business management was more his style.

An athlete who served as captain of his college team and even did a stint with the Wareham Gatemen, it became apparent that the business management degree offered Delgado a chance to pursue something he is more passionate about.

“My ultimate goal is to be a general manager of a major league baseball team," he said.

While working in the sport he loves is a dream job, being a general manager takes a whole lot more than just being a baseball fan – and Delgado knows it.

“It’s ultimately a billion dollar business," he said. "I was able to figure that out and build toward a career."