As Brian Burn reads a book in the cramped confines of his 10-by-20-foot tent behind the left field wall, he knows that at any moment he has to be ready.

When the sound system begins to say, "Heeeeeere nookie, nookie, nookie," the man in costume begins to prepare for his quick trip out onto Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to entertain State College Spikes fans.

For Burn, 25, being ready to energize and entertain the crowd is all in a day's work.

When a Spikes player crosses home plate, it is up to Burn to pop through the cut out hole in the outfield wall and dance around as the furry, blue creature that is affectionately known as the Nookie Monster.

While young children cheer as Burn performs his short routine, the graduate student hopes that his experience as a mascot will help him land a job in the near future.

Burn, along with fellow Nookie Monster actor Cliff Michel and Ike the Spike actor Brian Ososki are all making the most of their part-time summer jobs. While many people are counting down the days until their summer work ends, these three individuals have embraced the opportunity to be nightly entertainers.

"When they score, you jump out and do a little dance," Michel said. "But the best part is the interaction with the patrons. Giving high fives, hugs, taking pictures and making kids smile, and doing autographs is all just really neat."

This season is only the second year that the Spikes have had a full-time Nookie Monster. The team previously had a mascot that was stationed in the outfield, but Michel said mascot costume was not suitable to show fans up close. He said that once the team had professional costumes made last year, the Nookie Monster was given his permanent spot out in left field and was allowed to greet fans before and after games.

Michel has been around to see the evolution of the Nookie Monster, as he is currently in his second season with the Spikes. Because the stadium tends to get loud when the Spikes have runners in scoring position, Michel has learned to rely on listening to the play-by-play from a radio inside his tent.

"When we are on offense, I have to be ready to go," Michel said. "You never know when a guy is going to hit a homerun or when a run is going to come. I have a radio now because it's hard to see when you're looking through a little crack to know if a guy scored."

This isn't Michel's first time wearing a hot costume and interacting with kids. He has previous experience from his days as Blimpie Bear, handing out coupons to little leaguers at their games.

He said that he likes to think of his job as part of the "memory making business," and part of having satisfied visitors means he needs to greet them at the gate and give them legible autographs, all while wearing his big, fuzzy gloves.

Because of busy schedules, Michel and Burn share time as the Nookie Monster. Michel said there is also a third individual who occasionally hops out from the left field wall.

The thrill of emerging from the Nittany Bank Nook is something Burn is becoming accustomed to. The first-year mascot and State College native, who has an undergraduate degree from Penn State in physical education and health, said the experience of interacting with children is something that will help him with his job search.

When asked what he plans to tell a potential employer about his summer job, he said he will tell them all about how he was able to handle children who range from two to 14 years of age.

"It teaches you to deal with different kinds of things with different kinds of kids," Burns said. "There are more aggressive kids and the more relaxed kids, and you develop a sense of understanding about these different types of behaviors."

Burns said he sees the emotional side of young fans when he can't sign every autograph and can't provide every person with the type of attention they desire. It's those disappointed kids and the hot costume that Burns said are the toughest parts of his job.

While Burns and Michel are given the occasional day off to rest and recharge, Ososki doesn't have that luxury. He is only in his first year as Ike the Spike and said a lot of Five-Hour Energy shots help him stay upbeat.

Long series of home games tend to wear away at him, but he said his previous experience working at Walt Disney World helped him land the job. Ososki worked at Disney World from 2004 until 2006 where he was able to play various characters. Some of the roles he played included Pluto, Eeyore, Buzz Lightyear and Rafiki.

Ososki used to attend Penn State University before he transferred to South Hills School of Business and Technology in State College. He said his background in cheerleading and gymnastics sold the Spikes on his ability to entertain.

"It's a really rewarding job," Ososki said, "like, playing with the kids and entertaining up to like 6,000 people, which is our maximum capacity -- so having everybody watch you at once is just exhilarating."

His experience at Medlar Field serves as a nice change of pace from his other job working at Mad Mex. Ososki has no plans to give up his duty as Ike any time soon and hopes the team welcomes him back next season. Part of his willingness to return is because of the obligation that he feels he has to give Spikes fans a memorable experience.

"I'm there to keep the crowd entertained and keep them cheering," Ososki said. "Them cheering helps the team perform better, and it's all a big circle of helping each other out."