So, I may have hinted once or twice (and in my blog title) that working for Disney has always been my dream. When I accepted my college program, I truly felt like all my dreams were coming true. I got to work for my dream company, meet incredible people, network, make magic, and have the opportunity of a lifetime! What more could a girl ask for? Well, truth be told, I did have another, slightly bigger Disney Dream. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a Marine Mammal Intern at the Walt Disney World Resort.
My family and I traveled to Disney World countless times growing up. It became our home away from home and we all loved our vacations. I have loved animals for as long as I can remember and especially enjoyed spending time at Animal Kingdom and The Seas learning about the animals and their care. I could be kind of a shy kid at times, but my parents always made me go ask the same question to the Cast Members, "what can I do to get your job in the future?" The answer was always the same - get a college degree, get lots of experience, and work incredibly hard.
As I got older and discovered more about myself and what I wanted to do, it became clear to me that I wanted to work with animals in a zoo/aquarium setting. Disney was always in the back of my mind, but I knew how competitive their programs were so I never wanted to get my hopes up too much. On my College Program in 2014, I fell in love with the Company and decided that Disney was actually my long-term career goal and that I would do absolutely whatever it took to work with the animals at Disney.
It was then that started to look at the Professional Internship job descriptions. I noticed you needed experience, and lots of it, to even qualify for most of the internships. It was at this point that I was determined to get the experience I needed and develop my resume so that it was geared towards getting a Professional Internship with the Animals, Science, and Environment Department after graduation. I started with the Animal Department Internship at the Greenville Zoo, where I worked for a year learning how to take care of exotic animals in a zoo setting. I then moved to the Marine Mammal Internship at the National Aquarium, because I wanted to make sure that marine mammals were something I still had an interest in. I was right - I still loved marine mammals, which meant that I was definitely going to apply for Disney's Marine Mammal Internship the following year. I also joined a Research Program at my school and studied primate personality and behavior so I would have experience in a laboratory setting quantifying and explaining animal behavior. Finally, I traveled to both India and Turks and Caicos for study abroad opportunities so I could experience fieldwork and learn about the natural environment outside of the classroom.
So, after getting all of this experience and learning so much about biology, psychology, animal care, husbandry, and so many more topics, I finally submitted my application to be the Marine Mammal Intern at the Walt Disney World Resort. I also submitted two other PI applications, just to increase my chances, but my first choice was always the Marine Mammal one. I actually could not believe that after years of preparing for this internship opportunity, it was finally happening! I mean seriously, I've wanted this internship since I was about 10 years old! After going through the long process of filling out questionnaires, interviewing, and most importantly, waiting, I finally got the call that confirmed that all of my dreams were coming true - I was going to be a Marine Mammal Intern at Disney!
The amount of support I have received from family and friends during this whole process has been overwhelming. Everyone is so supportive and excited for me and they keep wishing me luck "pursuing my dreams at Disney." And every time they say that, I just smile. Yes, I'll be pursuing my dreams down in Disney, but in my opinion, I've been pursuing my dreams for the past four years, and now it's time to enjoy my dream! I do want to continue with the company after my internship and make a long career out of working for Disney, so I plan on networking a lot while down there and start working on a new dream. BUT, I also plan on enjoying every second of my current dream. I've worked hard to get to where I am, and I plan to enjoy every minute of it!
No comments:
Post a Comment