Hi Everyone! I have recently been accepted into Disney's Professional Internship Program. I noticed that there was a lack of information out there about how the program works and what it entails so I thought I'd start this blog to document my experience and let my family and friends know how and what I am doing while in Florida.

So here goes...

In 2009 I graduated from The University of Kansas with a degree in Organismal Biology and I can tell you I have been through a lot of ups and downs since then.

After graduation I moved home in hopes of finding a job in my field. I applied for a ton of them! Mostly with zoos and aquariums, but heard back from nobody. So while I was home I volunteered at the zoo (something I had been doing since freshman year of college), got a part time job at a vet (Kennel Aide, nothing glorious), and went back to working at Sonic (I had been working there on and off since I was 16).

After some time I had to take a step back and think about what I was doing. I mean I had a college degree. There had to be something more out there. The economy just wasn't helping my cause though. So I decided to make a decision.

I decided that in the summer of 2010 I was going to take some more college classes to earn my teaching license. It would take me until Summer of 2012. I guess those that can't do teach right? (And we are grateful that they do!)

In the long run I took some courses and then received a Microbiology internship during the summer of 2011. After my internship I took a step back and figured out that I love working in the science field, also the teaching field was sort of suffering right now.

I decided to sign up for one class this fall, Immunology, and try to apply for some jobs. I applied for many different types, Lab Techs, Assistants, etc., but then found after reading some job descriptions that I wanted to be involved with the Wildlife Biology or Conservation Biology field.

I then began to apply to many different entry level jobs in that field, but still hadn't heard anything back yet. This led me to start applying for internships in the field, which in turn led me to investigate the Disney Professional Internships.

There were a couple I wished to apply for but you had to already have participated in an Animal Programs Internship with Disney before you applied, so I decided to apply for the Conservation Education Presenter Internship, in order to work my way up to my desired internships.

After giving them my basic information, I received an email about a week later asking me to provide my college transcripts and give them a cover letter expressing my interest. After sending a bomb.com cover letter to Disney (with a little help from my mother, Thanks Mommy!), I got a response from Disney in less than a day to do a phone interview with them. After picking some options for an available time I received an email with my confirmation time. It also described to me some of the different things I would be doing on the job if accepted for the position:

Deliver conversations and presentations that are accurate, entertaining and that inspire conservation action in a variety of locations around the park, most importantly, the Kids' Discovery Club locations. In Africa kids track an animal by looking for clues along a pathway. Footprints, a pile of poop, etc. In Asia kids learn about siamangs (a type of gibbon which you can also see in Asia, fyi, these are an ape not a monkey), and listen to animal sounds. At Camp Minnie Mickey kids are able to reach inside a fallen log and try to identify the items from the forest that are inside. It's educational a daring at the same time. ;) Outside the Tree of Life kids get to actually see the insects they just saw in the show up close and personal. (This is the only Discovery Club that I actually remember seeing while at the park.) And finally at Conservation Station kids can go on a scavenger hunt for animals and learn about the environment and conservation in their own backyard. Be aware it's not just for kids. I am 24 and know that when I take a trip to Disney I jump at the chance to participate in activities like these.

I had my phone interview on Friday October 21st. I can tell you that I was soooooooo nervous during my interview. I actually think I was shaking, but the ladies on the phone were extremely nice and the entire process was over in about 15-20 minutes.

That night I went to a Halloween party with my friend Julie. Just a small get together, however, somewhere in the middle of the evening an iPod was plugged in and surprisingly enough they were playing Disney songs. Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Mulan, and some others. I took it as a sign that my interview went well. :)

On a side note, from that night on I also slept with my Mickey doll every night for good luck. ;)

On October 26th I received an email from Disney that asked me to fill out a standard form with very basic questions, most of which I had answered already about being enrolled in a college course, having transportation, etc. I think it took me about 10 minutes to fill out.

On Thursday October 27th I had a job interview with a company out in St. Joseph, Missouri. It went really well and I was excited about it. I came home that afternoon and decided to take a nap (with my Mickey doll of course). I hadn't been sleeping 30 minutes when my phone rang. When I looked at the number the and saw the 407 area code I knew it must be Disney. I immediately jolted awake.

On the phone I was asked many standard questions, mostly the same ones on the form I had filled out. I was told they needed verbal confirmation of the information I had given. After all the questions were asked I was told everything seems to be in order and that I was congratulated on receiving the Conservation Education Presenter internship. I couldn't believe it! I actually had to confirm it. I said I was so nervous on my interview and the man on the phone said I must have done well because they were impressed with me! :)

I guess I had a decision to make. I called my Mom on the phone first. She was speechless. Then I called my Dad and we talked about it a bit. After a family conference together we decided it was the opportunity of lifetime and that I was going to take it. Then I called everybody I could think of to tell them.

The next day I received my acceptance letter through a link by email, accepted and here we are.

In about 2 months I will be moving down to Orlando. The long term plan is to market myself well at Disney while I am down there to hopefully get a full time position with them. This is the start of an adventure that hope will be the start of the rest of my life!

I will have updates as they come and feel free to ask questions if you have them!