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Career Start to College Program

In the year 2000, another new housing complex was opened, signifying the further expansion of the program. Chatham Square is located just down the street from the Commons in the Little Lake Bryan area, and is also directly across the street from Mickey's Retreat, the cast recreation center. (While I did not live in Chatham, I did enjoy going fishing with friends at Mickey's Retreat). With spacious lawns separating the buildings, and gazebos offering shade from the Florida sun, Chatham Square became the place to hold housing events, including CP graduations. The newest apartment complex, Patterson Court, opened in 2008, and is often known as the "retirement home," due to its quieter atmosphere, especially in comparison to Vista Way, which has the reputation of being the party complex.

Chaz fishing at Mickey's Retreat

Image: Brittany DiCologero

In addition to the expansions in housing, the 2000s brought a number of other changes to the program. The Disney Career Start program came and went in the 2000s. This program essentially served the same purpose as the college program, however it was meant for high school graduates who had not yet attended college. While Disney has never given a clear reason for why this program was discontinued, I can only assume it was to expand the college program, and keep more spots open for CPs rather than Career Start applicants.

Brittany working in Dinoland USA in Animal Kingdom

Working in Animal Kingdom's Dinoland USA
Image: Brittany DiCologero

This decade also brought along some changes in the interview process. By the mid-2000s, applicants would submit an application entirely online, and initially each applicant would be invited to take a web-based interview. Upon passing the web-based interview, a phone interview would be offered, and an offer to participate in the program would come from there. Whereas alumni from the 1990s and before might remember receiving physical acceptance letters in the mail, everything in the recent past with regards to the program has taken place online, and currently students wait anxiously for "Congratulations!"emails.

As with many companies, applicants today are also able to check their progress on a dashboard page of the site, which keeps track of which stage of the process they're in, and any interviews they might have scheduled. Since 2013, the application process changed in that the web-based interview is no longer offered to every applicant like it was previously. Now students submit an application, and they then need to be selected based on the application to complete the web-based interview. This extra step in picking out specific applicants also seems to suggest that the program has steadily expanded, as some applications can be cut before receiving any kind of interview, narrowing down the options for which students are selected for the program.

While many students claim that this process of giving the web-based interview only to certain applicants is random, the official Disney College Program blog has proved this theory to be false on numerous occasions. Like most other companies, a submission of an application is no longer a guarantee for any kind of interview, and while Disney's recruiting department will not disclose what exactly helps an application make the cut, they have stated that the process is not at all random.

Aly at a housing event with the Three Caballeros

Meet and greet with the Three Caballeros at a CP housing event 
Image: Aly Schmidt

The Campus Representative program, which alumni from the 1990s and early 2000s might remember as a program where they would act as a representative from the college program on their own campuses in exchange for perks and benefits from Disney has also been discontinued. Its replacement, the Disney Alumni Association, is much more inclusive in that any alumni of the program can be involved, and it is not limited to the few who are selected to be representatives. The Alumni Association has also become a helpful resource for reunion planning with different years of the college program, and career networking among members. 

Living, Learning, Earning

In terms of housing, domestic and international CPs are able to live in any of the housing complexes, or off-site. Housing is available for married students as well, in one bedroom one bath apartments in any of the complexes, however a marriage certificate must be provided at check-in, and both spouses must be participating in the program. Since 2014, some CPs can elect (or be placed) in triples, meaning three CPs to a bedroom. This option not only makes the rent cheaper, but it can also be cause for a more difficult living situation, and serve as even further evidence of the rising popularity and growth of the program. During my last college program in Spring 2015, some students were able to live just down the street from the rest of CP housing in Cumberland Park. Cumberland Park is not a Disney housing complex, and therefore does not have buses, so students who lived there needed to have a car, however by choosing to live there, they were given substantially cheaper rent.

Nora working in parking at Hollywood Studios

Visiting Nora, our favorite parking CP, at Hollywood Studios
Image: Brittany DiCologero

With classes currently being optional, CPs can choose from seminar offerings to accredited college courses, or they can choose to not attend any at all. Popular classes like Marketing You, have been offered consistently for years on the program, while some classes particularly those in environmental studies and sustainability are fairly recent. Without choosing to take any weekly classes, current CPs still have the option to participate in resume writing seminars, mock interviews, CPR certifications, networking events, and a variety of other professional development offerings.

New roles available for CPs in 2016 include Convention Guide and Floral positions, both of which can be excellent choices for students looking to pursue careers in either of these areas. Additionally, the program also currently offers roles in the culinary field, in which students who participate must be enrolled in a culinary program as opposed to any college major. The more specialized fields of study accepted into the program today give rise to the credibility of the program, as well as the increased popularity of it.

With each new specialization that comes out, it becomes increasingly clear that more students are applying for the program each season, and I can't say I blame them. The Disney College Program was the only paid internship that provided housing and transportation that could be at least somewhat relatable to my field of study. It seemed like each new internship program I discovered would either require me to work for free, but have housing provided, or work for a stipend but have no housing, or in some cases even work for free with no housing. Even study abroad seemed to be out of the question because if I could afford to go to school in another country, how on Earth could I have paid for living expenses over there without the promise of full time, weekly pay?

Even though rent is deducted from CPs’ paychecks, the structure of the college program helps to make the finances of it completely doable. The combination of being able to live, earn, and learn on the Disney College Program really does make it one of the best internship experiences out there, allowing students of any background to have the opportunity to pursue work in one of the best companies in the world.

Brittany at Lights, Motors, Action after joining the alumni association

Visiting one of my work locations before it closes in April 2016
Image: Brittany DiCologero 

 “When the Time of Your Life is Life-Changing”

In June 2015, the Orlando Sentinel ran an article stating that there are about 12,000 CPs annually working at the Walt Disney World Resort. The resort in Florida is the largest single site employer in the U.S., with the CPs making up about five percent of the total number of employees. It is also estimated that about 50,000 students apply to the program each year, meaning that about 18,000 are accepted, with 12,000 accepting offers, and ultimately completing the program. Since the debut of the college program thirty-five years ago in 1981, the program has increased in size by about forty percent in the Florida resort alone. Currently, the sector of the company under “Disney Internships and Programs,” has also grown to include various international programs, culinary programs, Disney English, professional internships, and of course, the California counterpart of the program.

Brittany at Disney University

Image: Brittany DiCologero

The Disney College Program was the best nine months of my life, and I would do anything to be able to do it all over again. While there will always be those people who just don't get it, the program really was full of learning experiences, both personal and professional, that I will always carry with me. As a History major, I thoroughly enjoyed the seminar class I took on Disney's approach to marketing. While the subject of marketing bored me as a Business major during my freshman year of college, learning about Disney's unique marketing methods really sparked my interest, and I'm confident that this course will help diversify my resume given my relatively narrow field of study.

As for other professional experience, I honestly cannot imagine that any job will be as difficult as working a fourteen hour shift in the carnival games in Dinoland USA, or working crowd control at a showing of Fantasmic that has gone to standing room only. Though a lot of people tend to view the program as an internship offering the bottom of the barrel jobs to students for cheap wages, the experiences you have working crazy jobs, at even crazier hours, really do help when you're looking for work in the real world. These experiences have allowed me to find my own way of handling stressful situations, all while keeping up the legendary Disney service, and finding ways to make negative situations positive for guests.

Last time clocking out

Clocking out for the last time
Image: Brittany DiCologero

Aside from professional experiences, the Disney College Program has left me with some of the best friendships I could have asked for. They may be spread across the country, or even other parts of the world, but I am beyond thankful for the friends I've made during my nine months with the company. And above all, the program allows seemingly ordinary college students to actively participate and create magic of their own for guests, a unique experience which is difficult to grasp if you have not experienced it firsthand.

It's the kind of feeling you get when you make a guest's day during their first visit, or when you see a child's face light up while meeting their favorite character, or trading with you for a new favorite pin. It might sound crazy to those people who "just don't get it," but in all honesty those are the people who are missing out on an amazing experience, where "the time of your life is life-changing."

 
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