Well here
it goes, Kenzie on another blog. If you don’t know me already, I had a small
blog this past summer about my internship experience at Polycom and it went
pretty well so I decided to write another about my experience at the Disney
College Program in Orlando. There’s one problem though… I haven’t gone yet. The
program begins in January, so I jumped the gun by a few months but that’s okay.
I’ll talk about the application process and why I decided to do the DCP.
Let me
begin by introducing myself. I am currently a junior at Penn State University
majoring in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics. Yikes that’s a
mouthful. I have had my work cut out for me since the first day I arrived here
at state, and I guess that’s been a good and bad thing. College has had its ups
and downs; it’s honestly been quite the roller coaster so far. I may be in my
fifth semester here at state, but I’m barely halfway through considering I will
be doing a fifth year at state but that’s beside the point.
Why would
an electrical engineer like myself decide to do the DCP, when I was making over
triple what I would at Disney at my internship this past summer? For those of
you who know me in person, you know why I chose to go in a heartbeat. However
for those of you that don’t know me, I am a huge Disney fan. My bed at college
is covered in Lion King stuffed animals and the walls are loaded with Disney
pictures. Like most kids my age, and most other people, I grew up watching
Disney movies. Every time a classic is released on Blu Ray I have already Pre
ordered it, guaranteed. My sister has also been a huge fan of Disney her entire
life (which has been quite a bit longer than mine). For example our
conversation the other day she asked if I had “borrowed” her giant tigger while
I responded no I only had Simbas on my bed. Guess it must have been my mini me
aka my niece who “borrowed” it.
Besides
that fact, I want to get involved with Disney in the future. Yes I may be an
electrical engineer with some idea of what I want to do in the future, but I
honestly have no idea. I am doing Disney for me. I want to explore and find
what I would enjoy doing day in and day out because I want a job that I will
want to wake up for and love what I’m doing instead of a boring job I hate that
pays a lot of money.
I first
applied to Disney my freshman year of college for the Spring 2012 Advantage
program but was unable to attend because of my class schedule. I was accepted
to the program, but I can honestly say I do not remember which role I was
offered in the program.
After much
consideration this summer I decided to give the application another shot, it
couldn’t hurt to try again right? After all now I am a junior, at 20 years old,
and no clue in what direction I want to go in the future. At only 20 years of
age I have the time and the opportunity to spend 8 month in the happiest place
on Earth, my childhood, a dream come true. Right now I don’t see any downside
to taking this opportunity. Sure it sets my graduation back another semester,
but I was already planning on going 4 and a half years instead of 4, so what is
5 years honestly? I would rather take the opportunity and have the adventure
than regret the decision, for a second time, for the rest of my life. I already
turned down this opportunity once; I was not going to let it pass me by again.
Applications
came out on September 5th. I believe I began and completed my
application on September 11. Within an hour I had already received an
invitation to do the online survey and then was asked to schedule a phone
interview. Everything was happening so fast, I also was doing this around
midnight, 1 am so it must have been some automated responses I’m not sure.
Anyways, I set up my phone interview for the 17th. So a few days
passed and I had come up with a few questions to ask my interviewer.
The 17th
came and went, the phone interview was fairly basic and quick; I was on the
phone for about 25 minutes max. If anyone has specific questions about the
phone interview feel free to ask. So anyways at the end of the interview, my
interviewer said they would be in touch in about 2-3 weeks with an email
regarding my status. Three days later I received an email saying
Congratulations I had been accepted. Hold up. Nine days and I was already accepted?
I don’t think this happens for everyone, it definitely took a lot longer the
first time, maybe it’s because I applied early? Who knows?
I had been
cast for merchandise. Okay, so an electrical engineer in merchandise. What?
Kind of confusing, but I am a people person, or so I think? I have always been
super social and love talking to people, so hey I could sell some Disney merch.
Anyways, I decided to accept my offer. I am looking towards the future and
possibly opportunities to get involved in more professional internships
eventually with Disney. Who knows maybe one day I’ll be able to be a Disney
Imagineer! That would be a dream come true!
As of right
now I have accepted my contract; my set arrival date is January 20, 2014. Only
a couple months away and I already cannot wait to see what adventures are ahead
of me. Today I was looking at one-way flights to Orlando from my hometown (New
Hampshire, BRRRR!). It was kind of bittersweet; booking a one-way flight is odd
especially when it’s going to be your new home for 8 months. I guess we will
see how it goes.
The next
step for me is to work more with my advisor and see if I can get Penn State
credits somehow, I hope, it’d be nice to get a few credits. Okay that’s a long
enough post for now. Ta ta for now!
Follow Kenzie on twitter @k_phe19!
