"See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me. And no one knows, how far it goes. If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me. One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go" - Moana, How Far I'll Go
Growing up, it was my dream to be on the radio and in entertainment media. However, the path one takes to become successful in this business in unique as the individual. That could be said for all career paths though. But never in my wildest dreams did I ever believe that I would have worked for Disney World, while still in school!
Disney has an amazing internship program called "The Disney College Program", it is a paid-internship program that allows you to travel across the country to Orlando or LA, and gives you the foundation to build your resume for any industry. As a participant you are given a role(job) in the park(s) and work there to pay for your housing, while reaping all the employee benefits and opportunities to network inside the Disney Company. I would never change my experience for the world.
I remember applying for the program in the early months of 2014, but each time I applied my computer crashed....This was 7xs. However, I decided to give it one last shot, and boom I submitted my application. I got the web interview. Passed that. Then i got the phone interview and a few weeks later, I was accepted into the college program!
Its been 4 years but every interview I have ever had since, asked me at least 20 different questions about my college program experience. I never knew how much my life would be changed by a place. People spend thousands of dollars and plan for years just to experience a place like Disney for a week. But I practically lived there and got paid it for 4 months!
I saw every night time show more than I can count! I rode Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster 8x each in one day when the parks were slow. I celebrated my 21st birthday at the Parks with my friends down there. I even took time off and ventured out to the Florida Keys to experience more of what Florida had to offer. I saw the New Years Fireworks at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. I made kids laugh, made them smile, and even earned recognition from Guest who said, I made their experience worthwhile (BTW I was Custodial Guest Services at Epcot and I wouldn't have had it any other way).
I am not here to tell you to go and apply for the Disney College Program, but I am here to tell you that if you are looking for an internship experience that is different than the rest. Then give Disney a shot. If you apply and get in, GREAT, if not, try again. Its an highly competitive program that over 60,000 people apply for each semester yet maybe 7,000 people get selected.
Whether it is Disney or some other internship/development opportunity, I want you to have the courage to go for it. You never know until you try, and if you say, "I will be sad if I don't get it", WELL GOOD! im glad you are upset about not being able to have what you really want, because that means you have dreams, hopes, and aspirations. That means you have all the more reason to continue pursuing them because you know that they are worth it in the end.
The line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me And no one knows, how far it goes If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me, One day I'll know, HOW FAR ILL GO! - Moana, How Far I'll GO
Applications can be found here: https://jobs.disneycareers.com/job/aneheim/disney-college-program/391/9040909?cid=8873