Here's the story - sometime in late September, I was canvassing Google, searching for internships and the like, and decided to look at Disney's career site. I started scrolling, filtering, looking for something that looked like it fit me, and subsequently threw a generic resume and hasty cover letter into the black hole that was (and presumably still is) their online application site. Since summer internships had not been put up (and I've been told that they are extremely rare), I threw my name into the hat for a generic Engineering Professional Internship at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and for a Construction Management Internship at Disney World. I kinda forgot all about it - it was an extremely long shot, and I wasn't even sure I wanted a Spring position - until a little while ago, when I got a call from a 407 area code. It was an Imagineer from Florida who wanted to "talk to me about my resume" - with less than 2 hours notice.
So we talked, then I talked to him and a couple other people, and briefly, a few women from HR. Two days later, after waiting for months, lo and behold, out of the blue, right between the eyes, [insert favorite cliche here], I got an offer to be part of the Facilities Asset Management team at Walt Disney World in Florida for the spring.
And I've taken it.
I know some of you are shocked, awed, and perhaps a little confused as to why I'd take a semester off school to work when I'm going to be working the rest of my life anyway. I don't usually explain myself, but this is huge, and intensely cool, and so I think I probably should. So, I don't usually do stuff like this, but here's the top ten reasons I'm going to work in Imagineering at Disney World (I will forgo the Buzzfeed style gifset):
10: It's Disney.
Everyone knows Disney, the vast majority of people like Disney, and pretty much everyone respects Disney. It will be an extremely impressive thing to put on a resume, and I've been told that once you have Disney on your resume, that's all any interviewer will want to talk about.
9: It's outside of Arizona
I've been feeling a little stuck at the U of A, and I think a change of pace and a change of climate will do me good. I've never been east of the Mississippi for any extended period of time, so I'll get to experience at least one new culture and will have somewhere new to explore.
8: Everyone else says its awesome
I have a friend who is interning in engineering in Anaheim and is having the time of her life. There are a multitude of blogs, tumblrs, and assorted media mavens who rave about Disney Professional Internships, and even Disney's own marketing seems surprisingly genuine.
7: I can get school credit
Almost any study abroad that I could have done would have netted me 3-9 credits from classes that don't help me graduate. Even the engineering ones mostly give only 3 credits of research units. This will count towards my graduation as a 3- unit technical elective, and therefore be better for me academically than studying abroad - and I'm getting paid.
6: I'm a semester ahead
Since I'm only a single major now, I have some extra time to play around with. If I get all my classes, I can still graduate May 2017 even if I take a semester off.
5: Networking/Mentorship Opportunities
Disney Imagineers are the best in the business, and a lot of them come from other businesses. I'll have the opportunity to learn from the best of the best, and meet some really cool people who could advance my career - not to mention that the interns themselves come from all over.
4: There's a ton of really cool potential projects
A new land based on Avatar, James Cameron's sci-fi movie about blue skinned aliens, is opening soon at the Animal Kingdom. A major revamp on a beautiful hotel (the Wilderness Lodge) is coming up. Soarin' is getting an upgrade. And I could potentially be part of one (or all) of those.
3: I have the tools
From my experience at Bechtel (thank you all), with Rube, with Haunted Dungeon, I have experience managing people, dealing with suppliers, pricing material. and making sure things get done. And anything I don't know, I pick up fast. I'm really good at building stories, at pacing, at getting the psychological payoff I'm looking for, which hopefully means I'll fit right in.
2: It's mine
This was something I searched out for and applied for myself. Looking back, I've noticed that I have a disturbing habit of stealing or absorbing other people's dreams in lieu of searching for my own (e.g. aerospace was and still is more my brother's thing than mine), but I've always wanted to work for Disneyland since I was little. This dream is my own, not my brother's, not my parent's, not my friends', and that slight bit of ownership and autonomy will make me work that much harder and makes it all that much sweeter. Also, it will be a great experience to be somewhere legitimately on my own without the safety net that comes from having grandparents 2 hours away.
1: IT'S DISNEY
Speaking of dreams, this is a company that literally creates them (ever seen Alice in Wonderland?). It's been a huge part of my childhood (and, it could be argued, my semi-adulthood). Just being able to be part of that legacy would be an amazing experience - to create the things that the next generation of Graces will obsess over would be so cool.
So that's why I'm ditching school. If you're going to beg me to stop, it's too late now, and I'm not sorry at all - in fact, I'm excited out of my head - I'm still bouncing off the walls. This is one of the coolest things that ever happened to me, and I'm really looking forward to the experience.
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