So You Accepted a Professional Internship, Now What?

About three weeks ago, I officially accepted my PI with the Marine Mammal team at The Seas in Epcot. The days after my acceptance phone call were filled with excitement - I got to tell all my friends and family, make a big Facebook announcement, and start to get excited about graduation and my future. But then, after those few days had passed, I found myself sitting there thinking "so now what?" I still had a few weeks until graduation and a few months until my start date. I had let the PI application process consume my entire semester, and now that it was officially over, it was a completely strange feeling.

So, allow me share my "so now what" journey with you as I eagerly anticipate my start date for the Fall 2016 Marine Mammal Internship.

The first point of business after accepting a PI is to find housing accommodations. Disney does offer PI housing in Falcon Square, but they charge $140 a week (as of now) and you have to share a room with another intern. I've heard that the PI housing is nicer than CP housing, and it is really convenient because you don't have to worry about finding a place with a short-term lease or buying furniture. However, I did not have the best experience with CP housing, and being a 22-year old college graduate, I did not feel like being put back in a situation where I had a lot of strict housing rules to follow while sharing a room and paying a fortune for it. So, my friends and I (my roommates from my CP) decided we would find our own housing. Looking for apartments was kind of a long process, but I started a few weeks before I was accepted to make the process easier! We ended up signing a lease with Victoria Park Apartments in Davenport, Florida. The reason we signed here was because it was relatively cheap compared to other options, the staff was extremely helpful and friendly, and it came recommended by some friends! All of this made it a lot easier to sign a lease from out of state and without having actually seen the complex. We are currently in the process of signing the lease for our 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom place! I'm really excited for move-in and think that Allie, Megan, and I will have an absolute blast when we are reunited in Orlando!

The next communication I got from Disney was about joining Yammer, which is an online social networking site for businesses. Basically, it's a place to get to know one another and ask any questions about your position, costume, or other parts of your internship! The ASE Yammer is really cool because Issac, who is a part of the talent management team, is also on the page and is available to answer questions and share some funny stories with all of us. It's a really great resource and a way to keep us all busy before check-ins start!

The last piece of communication I received from Disney (so far) is my welcome letter. The ASE Talent Management Team sent me a welcome letter introducing themselves, telling me how to contact them, and giving me details about Yammer. The letter also included information about my arrival date, the Disney Look, and my costume and shoes. Finally, since I am a marine mammal intern and will be SCUBA diving as part of my responsibilities, I had to read another part of the letter specifically about diving. This section mainly just talked about how we can't wear jewelry on the job, how we have to use special animal-safe hair-ties, and about how they will provide us with diving gear for on the job use! I had to respond to the email with my height, weight, and shoe size so that my gear would be ready for me when I arrived!

Besides finding an apartment, figuring out Yammer, and preparing for my arrival, I've also been trying to enjoy my last few weeks at Clemson! Two weeks from today I will be done my finals and officially done with my undergraduate career. I have mixed feelings about this - I'm so excited for my new Disney adventure (and to be done with school, for the time being), but I am also really going to miss my friends and Clemson overall. Clemson has given me so much during my 4 years here, and I am really going to miss it!

So, if you've made it through this long post - congrats! You now know how I've been handling this "so now what" period, and the best ways for you to handle it as well! My advice would be to plan ahead and don't leave all of the preparation until the last minute. You want to be able to enjoy your last few weeks of school without having all the stress of finding roommates, an apartment, and getting acquainted with the company policies. I should be getting my new hire paperwork and some more information about the internship closer to my arrival date, so be on the lookout for another post about more pre-arrival tasks! And, as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out and let me know!

54 days and counting...!

Marine Mammal Professional Internship

This morning I received the phone call that I have been dreaming about for years - I officially accepted a position as the Marine Mammal Intern with the Walt Disney Company starting in June! Words cannot even begin to describe how excited I am for this opportunity. I've been dreaming about this internship for as long as I can remember. I cannot believe that my dreams are finally coming true!!!

Last week my dashboard status changed to "post-interview stage" for the marine mammal position. Then, I received an email late last night to set up a "brief phone conversation" to further discuss my position. I had a pretty good idea this meant good news, but I was still really nervous!! Finally, around 10:00 this morning I received a phone call from the recruiter. We went over basic information about the applications I submitted, verified a lot of information, and then at the end of the conversation she let me know that the Marine Mammal team wanted to offer me the position!! 

So, beginning June 8, 2016, I will officially be moving to Orlando and starting work as the Marine Mammal Intern at The Seas in Epcot!! I have dreamed about this opportunity for so many years, and I am so thrilled to share my journey with you all!!

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney

ACCEPTED!!

After 52 long days of waiting I can officially say that I have been accepted to the Disney College Program for the 2016 Fall Advantage program as an Attractions Hostess!!!!!

To say that I feel relieved after 52 days of waiting for this acceptance is an understatement. While I still felt optimistic about my chances of getting accepted, waiting that long for news is agonizing no matter what. I only had to wait 13 days to be accepted for my first program, so this wait was so strange and new to me. Combine that with the fact that I'm a graduating senior and was counting on having the DCP as an option for post-graduation plans and my anxiety was through the roof waiting to see if I would be accepted or not!!

Thankfully, the acceptance did come and I could not be more thrilled to be going back to the place where dreams come true to make more magic. My two roommates and best friends from my last program have also both been accepted, so we can now officially start planning our post-graduation move down to Florida!

Here is my acceptance timeline for those of you curious! You can also check out a more detailed version by clicking here.

January 13 - Applied to DCP

January 13 - Received & Passed Web Based Interview

January 22 - DCP Phone Interview with Christy

March 14 - Accepted (52 days after interview) 

For those of you who are curious to hear my acceptance story, here it is. It's not very glamorous, but it's mine nonetheless:

So, I had a pretty rough day. I had dental work done and two other doctor appointments. I was sore, tired, and grumpy because I noticed there was another wave of acceptances going out and I still hadn't heard anything. My roommates and I were texting each other about our Professional Internship Progress and I was just getting frustrated with my lack of news. I decided that since there was a wave happening, I would obsessively check my email (not a good idea, FYI). I was just about to go upstairs to get ready for my next appointment when I decided to refresh my email. I discovered that I had one email in my account, and opened it not expecting anything exciting. All I had to do was see the words "WDW and Congratulations!" and I jumped out of my chair (which was reclining at the time, so I'm still not sure how I managed to do this) and ran around my house. No one was home, so I frantically tried to call my mom. She was at work and didn't answer so I texted her and told her. Then I told the rest of my family and friends through various phone calls, texts, and social media updates. Everyone was so happy for me and I was so thrilled. I was sitting on my bed reading my offer letter literally shaking and breathing so quickly.

I can't remember the last time I wanted something so badly. I've been really stressed about my post-graduation plans, and now that I am officially accepted I am so relieved. I am thrilled that I will be going back down to Walt Disney World and continuing my Disney Dream!!

For those of you still waiting to hear about an acceptance, or if you're just in a similar situation and feeling anxious about the future, remember these famous words:"Why worry? If you've done the very best you can, worrying won't make it any better." - Walt Disney

Stay tuned to follow along with Megan's Disney Dream - Part TWO!! I'm so excited to once again share my adventure with you all. Keep on dreaming, dreamers <3

The infamous acceptance email!