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Intern at the “happiest place on earth”
February 22, 2007
Junior David Van Cleve is an avid Disney fan, and he jumped at the chance to take part in Disney’s College Program.
“I love Disney and I wanted to try something new,” Van Cleve said. “I wanted to break out of my routine here and expand my horizons.”
The Disney College Program is an entry-level, paid internship at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. It lasts from five to eight months and combines education and work experience.
The Disney recruiter for the Northwest will describe the college program and the opportunities it provides to participants on March 8 at 5:45 p.m. in Ingram 100. PLU students who’ve completed the internship will be available to answer questions.
In the program, students do not work in the corporate office. Instead, they are paid to work at the Orlando resort for a minimum of 30 hours a week in jobs that include food service, hospitality and merchandising. For example, Van Cleve spent the last five months working on the custodial staff at the Magic Kingdom.
Van Cleve concedes the college program isn’t like a “typical” office internship experience, but he believes he learned more through the program and his job as a custodian than he would have in an office, he said.
“I gained lots of skills and knowledge,” he said. “Disney expects a lot. They set high standards and hold everyone to them.”
The program builds transferable skills, such as relationship building, problem solving and verbal communication, Van Cleve said. It also provided networking opportunities with Disney executives, seminars on a variety of topics, behind-the-scenes tours and the chance to meet and build friendships with people from around the globe.
“I now have as many Facebook friends from the program as I do from PLU,” he joked.
One of the most valuable things Van Cleve learned was what life is like far from his home and family in Eatonville, Wash.
“In Florida, I was completely out of my element. I had to learn how to live on my own, I was financially dependent on myself for the first time,” he said.
While working, students in the program take up to eight credit hours of classes that are focused on a particular expertise, such as communication, hospitality management and organizational leadership.
Van Cleve took a class titled “Marketing You.” In it, he learned how to market himself to future employers, including the best ways to network, search for a job and how to tailor his resume for specific jobs. All of these skills will be invaluable in the future, he said.
Van Cleve lived off-site in one of three Disney apartment complexes with five other students, and his roommate was from PLU. He said the living arrangements were similar to South Hall, with one common living area connected to the bedrooms that slept two people.
The apartments that students share have one to four bedrooms, and costs, which range from $71 to $90 a week and include all utilities, are deducted automatically from the weekly paychecks. Transportation is provided to and from the resort.
After successfully completing the college program, students are eligible to interview for a professional internship, which provides the opportunity to work in the Disney corporate setting in a field that aligns with their major. It also a good step towards a full-time job with the corporation, Van Cleve said.
“The normal college program gives you a huge leg up to get the ‘regular’ internships,” he said. “About 90 percent of them require you to do the college program.”
In order to qualify for an internship, students must fill out and submit an online application, and then attend the March 8 presentation. Students still interested in the program at the end of the presentation can schedule telephone interviews for the following week.
“The best part was working at a place I love so much. I loved working there, in that atmosphere,” Van Cleve said. “There are not many places where you watch parades and fireworks every night you’re on the job.”
To learn more about the program, visit www.wdwcollegeprogram.com or contact Maxine Herbert-Hill at ext. 7324 or herberam@plu.edu.
The Disney College Program is an entry-level, paid internship at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. It lasts from five to eight months and combines education and work experience.
The Disney recruiter for the Northwest will describe the college program and the opportunities it provides to participants on March 8 at 5:45 p.m. in Ingram 100. PLU students who’ve completed the internship will be available to answer questions.
In the program, students do not work in the corporate office. Instead, they are paid to work at the Orlando resort for a minimum of 30 hours a week in jobs that include food service, hospitality and merchandising. For example, Van Cleve spent the last five months working on the custodial staff at the Magic Kingdom.
Van Cleve concedes the college program isn’t like a “typical” office internship experience, but he believes he learned more through the program and his job as a custodian than he would have in an office, he said.
“I gained lots of skills and knowledge,” he said. “Disney expects a lot. They set high standards and hold everyone to them.”
The program builds transferable skills, such as relationship building, problem solving and verbal communication, Van Cleve said. It also provided networking opportunities with Disney executives, seminars on a variety of topics, behind-the-scenes tours and the chance to meet and build friendships with people from around the globe.
“I now have as many Facebook friends from the program as I do from PLU,” he joked.
One of the most valuable things Van Cleve learned was what life is like far from his home and family in Eatonville, Wash.
“In Florida, I was completely out of my element. I had to learn how to live on my own, I was financially dependent on myself for the first time,” he said.
While working, students in the program take up to eight credit hours of classes that are focused on a particular expertise, such as communication, hospitality management and organizational leadership.
Van Cleve took a class titled “Marketing You.” In it, he learned how to market himself to future employers, including the best ways to network, search for a job and how to tailor his resume for specific jobs. All of these skills will be invaluable in the future, he said.
Van Cleve lived off-site in one of three Disney apartment complexes with five other students, and his roommate was from PLU. He said the living arrangements were similar to South Hall, with one common living area connected to the bedrooms that slept two people.
The apartments that students share have one to four bedrooms, and costs, which range from $71 to $90 a week and include all utilities, are deducted automatically from the weekly paychecks. Transportation is provided to and from the resort.
After successfully completing the college program, students are eligible to interview for a professional internship, which provides the opportunity to work in the Disney corporate setting in a field that aligns with their major. It also a good step towards a full-time job with the corporation, Van Cleve said.
“The normal college program gives you a huge leg up to get the ‘regular’ internships,” he said. “About 90 percent of them require you to do the college program.”
In order to qualify for an internship, students must fill out and submit an online application, and then attend the March 8 presentation. Students still interested in the program at the end of the presentation can schedule telephone interviews for the following week.
“The best part was working at a place I love so much. I loved working there, in that atmosphere,” Van Cleve said. “There are not many places where you watch parades and fireworks every night you’re on the job.”
To learn more about the program, visit www.wdwcollegeprogram.com or contact Maxine Herbert-Hill at ext. 7324 or herberam@plu.edu.