West Liberty University junior Emily Shimp found a way to earn college credit while indulging her interest in Walt Disney as a participant in the Disney College Program.
Shimp, an accounting major, completed the Disney fall advantage program which allowed her to spend seven months, from May until January, working at Walt Disney World in Florida. Her work experience there allowed her to gain six college credit hours in general business. While in Orlando she also took two courses online to remain a full-time student at WLU.
With a self-professed love for all things Disney, Shimp first visited Walt Disney World when she was a junior in high school. Of her first visit there she said, “I noticed that many of the cast members had colleges on their name tags. So when I came home I did some research on the computer and found out about the Disney College Program.
“Then during my senior year I decided to write a research paper on it for my college English class and I started to seriously consider if it was something that I could someday take part in.”
During the spring of 2011 Shimp applied to the program in which approximately 10,000 students from the United States and throughout the world participate yearly. Shimp had to watch an informational video online and then complete an online application.
“After passing the online interview I was given the opportunity to set up a date and time for a phone interview. Before my phone interview I completed an interest form online that let them know which areas of business I was willing to work within,” Shimp said.
“The telephone interview was tailored to the lines of business I was applying for and lasted only around twenty minutes. In only two weeks I received my ‘congratulations’ email for being selected for the role of quick-service food and beverage.”
Although working in quick-service food and beverage was not her first choice, Shimp said she was lucky enough to be placed in Epcot’s Sunshine Seasons, Disney’s highest-rated quick-service location.
“On any given day I could be serving food at any of our five food stations, stocking coolers or condiments, cleaning the dining room, working at the cash registers or serving as the greeter to welcome guests and answer any of their questions.”
Typically Shimp worked 40 hour weeks, but at the parks’ peak times she worked as much as 58 hours in one week. Renowned for customer service, the park requires employees to receive extensive training before beginning to work with the public.
“The Walt Disney Company has some of the highest standards for its employees so that they can provide an excellent guest service experience for park visitors; consequently, I was able to increase my level of professionalism,” Shimp said.
“Not only did I learn a lot of information about the food service industry, but I gained a lot of knowledge about what it takes to work for a Fortune 100 company. I also gained a lot of experience from working with people from different cultures.”
Without a doubt, the experience was worth it, she said. “I loved almost every aspect of the program. I loved the diverse people that I got to work with every day and the friendships that I gained from this experience.”
Working for Walt Disney World has its perks, she added, such as “free access to the parks, discounts on merchandise, food, and hotel accommodations, and cast exclusive activities.”
Shimp said her experience in the Disney College Program is only a catalyst for future opportunities. “During my last semester of college I will have the opportunity to apply for a professional internship at Disney within my field of study, which is accounting. If I am accepted into the professional internship program and do well in my role, in many cases that can lead to a full-time position within the company.”
Shimp said she worked with accounting instructor and chair Michael Blackwell, academic advisor Brianne Poilek and Gary E. West College of Business Dean Loren Wenzel to ensure that the Disney experience met WLU academic requirements. She expressed gratitude that WLU enabled her to participate in the program. “Without the cooperation of the University I would not have been able to afford to take a semester in order to participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity.”
She said, “One of my favorite parts about working at Walt Disney World was the ability to make people happy. Walt Disney said, ‘You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world … but it requires people to make the dream a reality,’ and I am so glad I was able to be a part of making Walt’s dream a reality.”
To learn more about the Disney College Program online, visit www.disneycollegeprogram.com or contact Shimp by E-mail at eshimp@westliberty.edu.