You know him as the Shriners TV spokesman. The Pacers call him their intern extraordinaire

INDIANAPOLIS − On the second day of his internship with the Indiana Pacers, Alec Cabacungan was introduced to Larry Bird. Cabacungan smiled, shook Bird's hand and thought to himself, "Wow, this is super cool."

Cabacungan was a bit starstruck by the basketball legend, to say the least, but he kept it professional, as he always does. He is pretty familiar with the song and dance of celebrity encounters. But nine times out of 10, he's usually on the other side of things.

He is usually the one making other people starstruck. Cabacungan is, after all, a legend in his own right.

For the past 10 years, Cabacungan has been the face of Shriners Hospitals for Children as a national spokesperson. He's appeared in countless ads, touting the doctors and nurses, the surgeons and the physical therapists at the global healthcare system, which recently was rebranded simply as Shriners Children's.

And this summer, as he worked for the Pacers on multiple different teams, including digital, broadcast and production, he was garnering the same kind of fan adoration as those NBA stars he was working for.

At a draft party held in June for Pacers' season ticket holders, Robyn Fuhrman watched as people approached Cabacungan. "Hey, what are you doing here?" they said. "You're the guy from Shriners." Cabacungan was there shadowing and helping Fuhrman, who is the director of digital partnerships for Pacers Sports & Entertainment.

"But at one point, I became his photographer," Fuhrman said, as people walked up asking for pictures with Cabacungan. "It was fun for me to see how big his brand is."

"Every time I would go to work, every time I'd leave work, people in Indianapolis would always stop their cars, they would always honk, they'd always yell out of their windows," said Cabacungan, 21. "They would say, 'Hi,' to me on the streets."

There Cabacungan was in the flesh right before their very eyes, that guy they knew from all those television commercials.

"People always tell me they feel like they've seen me grow up on TV, they feel like they know me, they feel like I'm a part of their family," Cabacungan, who is majoring in journalism at Northwestern University, told IndyStar, "and it's an honor."

Cabacungan, who was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease, was 11 years old when he first took to television screens across the nation as a tiny boy with a sweet, high-pitched voice talking about his love for Shriners Children's.

He started going to the hospital when he was two months old due to his rare genetic disorder which, according to Shriners, affects the bones, causing them to break easily and possibly causing deformities.

Cabacungan has broken more than 60 bones throughout his life, had 18 surgeries and endured thousands of hours of rehabilitation. Because of Shriners, he says, he is an adult able to live an independent life.

And this summer, that life got pretty good when it brought Cabacungan to Indianapolis to live out his dream, working for an NBA team.

Which helped Cabacungan build a resume for his ultimate dream career − taking to television, once again, as a sports broadcaster.

'A full circle moment'

Cabacungan was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois, nine miles west of Chicago. Growing up, he played wheelchair basketball on the south side of Chicago, and he was good.

He absolutely loved the sport and so, of course, he was a devout Chicago Bulls fan, rooting for his basketball idol, Derrick Rose. He loved the Chicago Bears, too.

As a little boy, Cabacungan would fantasize about someday being one of those star athletes.

"When I realized I wasn't going to be seven feet tall and 300 pounds, I had to figure out what was the next best thing," said Cabacungan. "To me, that was watching guys like Stuart Scott, Ernie Johnson, and seeing how much fun they had as they talked about sports."

When Cabacungan was in high school, at 15 years old, he was invited to be a host on TNT's "Inside the NBA," alongside his broadcast hero Ernie Johnson, as well as Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.

He wore a suit with a bow tie to emulate Johnson's signature look. Immediately after introductions, Johnson said on air how much he appreciated that bow tie. "What about the rest of us?" Barkley quipped. "Yeah, would you do anything for us?" Smith asked.

"Well, I was going to shave my head, but..." Cabacungan said as the panel burst into laughter.

Things quickly turned serious as O'Neal talked about what it meant to have Cabacungan on the show.

"You know how when we all played at places like L.A. and New York, and you see a superstar? That's how I felt when I came in the building today (and saw you)," O'Neal said. "I was like, 'I know you from somewhere, from the commercial.' You do a great job on those commercials."

And now, Cabacungan is a senior in college, and he just spent his summer interning for the Pacers.

"I mean, that's a really cool, full circle moment," he said. "Really cool."

'A second away from the spotlight to just be an intern'

Cabacungan landed his gig with the Pacers as part of the Gregory S. Fehribach Center internship program for college students with physical disabilities.

During his time with the Pacers, working inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Cabacungan says he "did intern type stuff," collecting data, researching stories and keeping track of trends. But it was so much more than that.

Cabacungan had a rotational internship, working a few weeks each in multiple departments, including game operations, digital marketing, tickets, facilities and getting an opportunity to see all facets of the business.

While working for her department, Fuhrman said, Cabacungan was impressive, chipping in with "refreshing and unique ideas from a different perspective" during brainstorming sessions. He asked so many great questions, she said, and was always wanting to learn more and understand why things were being done a certain way.

"I was very, very impressed by his maturity, impressed by how he carries himself and his self-awareness," Fuhrman said. On top of that, Cabacungan was an absolute professional, beating her to the office every single day. Not only was he never late, he was always early.

And while Cabacungan got recognized as the guy from Shriners quite a bit, he never let that distract him. "He was soaking everything up, learning, gaining all the knowledge," Fuhrman said. "It was really cool he got a second (away from the spotlight) to just be an intern."

Cabacungan said it was a dream come true, to be inside the halls where an NBA team creates its magic.

"I just really learned a ton. I got a great opportunity to network with some of the best minds in entertainment in the NBA, and I got to work for a world-class organization this summer," he said. "So, it was awesome."

Rick Fuson, president and chief operating officer of Pacers Sports & Entertainment was a mentor to Cabacungan, giving him "a lot of great life advice." Allison Barber, president and chief operating officer of the Fever did the same. "She was extremely kind to me as well, extremely kind."

The organization invited Cabacungan to make a presentation to more than 70 members of the Pacers staff in July, during Disability Pride Month. Cabacungan talked about how people with disabilities are integral parts of society and how they should be perceived.

"The Pacers were very welcoming," Cabacungan said. "They were very open. They were very helpful."

The Pacers also gave Cabacungan the opportunity to give his thoughts on the accessibility at their fieldhouse.

"I thought Gainbridge was an incredibly beautiful facility that was extremely accessible for people with disabilities," he said. "They have done a really good job of making sure that it is accessible for all their fans and all their employees, so I appreciate them for that."

Outside of Gainbridge, that's not always the case, Cabacungan said. And he is a fierce advocate for people with disabilities.

"One of my biggest struggles is physical infrastructure, and how there are still buildings that are not compliant. There are still buildings that are not accessible," he said. "It's a big problem."

In his spare time, Cabacungan coaches wheelchair basketball and helps youth in Chicago find adaptive sports and a community that welcomes them.

"I still want to be a TV sports broadcaster. I'd love to one day host my own sports show. But I also am trying to figure out where I fall in this disability advocacy side of things," he said. "There are a lot of problems and I want to be a part of a lot of the solutions. So, we'll figure it out."

No matter what his future holds moving forward, Cabacungan said he will always carry a piece of Indianapolis and the Pacers with him. And he will be one of their biggest fans.

"I can't wait to see what the Pacers do this season," he said, "and what Indianapolis does for the NBA All-Star Game. I know that they're doing a lot of big things. I can't wait to see Indianapolis in front of the bright lights."

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Face of Shriners Children's hospital was Indiana Pacers' summer intern