My second internship was a dream come true. I don’t even know where to begin…
My sophomore year of college, I applied to the Disney College Program and to my surprise, I got in! I was so excited for the opportunity but after consulting it with my parents and older brother, they weren’t fully on board with the idea. Don’t get me wrong it’s a great program, you get to work at Disney! But you do not get any professional experience which was my priority at the moment.
Disney has multiple programs for students, the most popular being the Disney College Program and Disney Professional Internships. After I declined my offer for the College Program, I set a goal to one day get to live my disney dream as a professional intern. The first time I applied for the software engineering internship was my sophomore year of college… I didn’t get an interview until my senior year.
I got a call during class from a Senior Engineer at Disney, Mark. He asked me if it was a good time and I said yes – totally lied and ran out of class. We had a conversation about my first internship, the technologies I used and what my goals were. He was from Chicago so we bonded over that and the conversation flew. After my call with Mark, I went back to class and got another call from my Disney recruiter 20 minutes later causing me to run out again. I still remember standing outside of class jumping around excited as I’ve ever been after he told me that Mark wanted me on his team starting Spring 2020.
I’m confident that my persistence is what got me this internship. I applied for years and was rejected constantly but I continued applying. It took 2 years for them to give me a chance and once I got the job, the number of rejections didn’t matter. I’ve always said this and I will continue sharing it – do not let rejection stop you, it’s part of the process. Continue applying, continue growing and learning. Once you get the job, you will be so thankful that you never gave up. Just like I was.
The internship was for the full Spring semester which meant I had to take a semester off of school. Delaying graduation in college is never shameful. In reality, there is no right time to finish college. Everyone goes at their own pace because everyone has different goals. Mine has always been to graduate with experience, no matter how long it took. I would rather graduate “late” with experience than graduate “on time” with no experience on my resume. During an interview, they don’t ask you how long it took for you to finish college but they do ask about your previous experiences. Which is why I accepted this internship and delayed my graduation.
January 2020 arrived and I had to drive from El Paso, TX to Orlando, FL because the internship required you to provide your own transportation. Disney made the experience from my very first day so memorable. They provided housing for interns so they hosted a Professional Intern Housing event on the first day where they welcomed us and gave us our apartment keys. After the event, I headed to my apartment where I got to meet my roommates. There were 4 interns per 2 bedroom apartment. Don’t get me wrong, it was quite spacious!
Orientation was held on day 2 and hosted at Disney University. Disney calls it Traditions. Every new employee has to attend, no matter the position. I don’t want to spoil too much about Traditions for those who plan to one day experience it but part of it was held at Magic Kingdom where they told and showed us all of Disney’s secrets… It was a very special day and mostly because I received my nametag and officially became a cast member. Disney refers to all of its employees as cast members. Even if you don’t want it to, the Disney lingo will catch on to you while working there.
I also got my blue badge which had my company ID on it and was basically my golden ticket for perks. When I was at the parks with my badge, I got free parking, free entrance and discounts on everything. Other cast members would ask me where I created magic which actually meant where I worked in the company and I’d tell them I was part of the engineering department. I loved sharing about the engineering side of Disney with other cast members because not only did they seem surprised that Disney had engineers but they were genuinely interested to learn about it.
My actual first day on the job was so great (I say that a lot but I really loved every second of it!). The team was very welcoming and Mark was the best mentor. He explained everything so well, he answered all of my questions and although it was only my first day, I was ready to starting coding. This internship was already so different than my last one because I was assigned an intern project and I was expected to complete it all by myself. My first internship was pair programming, therefore I was never working on something independently. The idea of working on my own was a bit intimidating but I was so excited to jump into it. I was eager to learn what I didn’t know. I also carried a notebook around during this internship which today holds every question I had and answer I received during my time at Disney. It still comes in handy today.
It might be intimidating to get assigned an intern project. You might believe you don’t know enough and sometimes it can be hard to believe in yourself but thankfully for me, I had my older brother who constantly reminded me that I was there because I didn’t know everything. Not knowing something doesn’t make you a fraud, it simply makes you a student. As an intern, you’re not expected to be an expert, you’re expected to learn and take in as much as possible. I was there to show up, ask every question I had and be myself. With questions, came answers and with those answers came a successful intern project!
Don’t be intimidated to dive into the engineering world. Every engineer, no matter what position, continues to learn every single day.
I was working for Disney Parks, Experiences and Products (DPEP) which is one of the many departments Disney has. What excited me the most was being able to see what happened being the scenes. Behind all the fun, entertainment and the parks, there is all kinds of engineers holding it all together… and I was one of them. When cutting-edge technology meets Disney creativity, there are no limits to what can be developed.
The office was incredible! Each floor had a different theme. I worked in the Toy Story area, there was a Buzz Lightyear that was taller than me next to my desk. I wish I would’ve caught a picture with him. One of my intern friends worked on the Star Wars floor which was my personal favorite. There was booths, couches, kitchens, a library, Disney characters and Walt Disney quotes all over. It was such a friendly and lively environment to work in. I looked forward to going in every day.
During my time at Disney, I attended a Women in Tech event within the company. It was held by a director who has been at Disney for over 22 years. She explained why she’s been there for so long and what she loved most about the company. She was a working mother of 2 and shared how her position at Disney never interfered with her life as a mother. She talked about the support and opportunities the company gave her to be at the position she is now, even as a woman in tech back in 1998 and how much she loved it. This event taught me about company culture and how important it is, especially for a minority like me.
One of the best things I got out of my Disney internship was new friendships – some of the smartest people I’ve ever met. Not only did they make work so much more fun but I continued learning from each one of them. We got many perks, including getting to ride Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway before it opened to the public and of course, free admission to the parks which was my favorite part. We got discounts, tickets for family and friends and so much more. It was such a special experience, so much more than I imagined it would be.
Growing up I wanted to be a Disney princess, but being an engineer at Disney fulfilled that dream. My team asked me to extend my internship for the summer but I had already accepted a summer internship with Facebook (next blog post). Otherwise, I definitely would have. It was such a magical experience, there’s nothing like Disney. Being at the parks, the office, seeing the colors, the pictures, quotes, designs, characters and friendly faces really makes you feel like you’re escaping reality… even for a little bit.
I plan to return to Disney one day. I don’t know when, I just know I will. After all, I’m barely getting started.
XOXO,
Pao
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