Students to intern with Disney

Damian Craig (left) and Bailey Chambers (right) will be all ears when they head to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida for six-month internships.

Two Douglas College students are packing their swimsuits and getting ready for the work experience of a lifetime at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

Bailey Chambers and Damian Craig are the first post-secondary students from BC to be selected for six-month internships through an academic exchange program with the University of California - Riverside and the Walt Disney World Resort. They leave the Lower Mainland in mid-January.

"It sounded like a great way to get business contacts and an overall fun experience," says Craig, a second-year Bachelor of Business Administration student who will be working as a lifeguard at the Walt Disney World Resort.

"I'm really excited just by the fact that it's Disney and I'll be meeting people from around the world," says Chambers, who is in the final year of the Marketing Management Program. While participating in the Disney International Programs J-1 Academic Exchange Experience, she'll be working on rotation between jobs in merchandising, quick-service food and beverage and attractions.

The students will start off in California, where they'll take an intensive introduction-to-hospitality course at the University of California - Riverside. They'll then head to Florida where they'll take an additional course with Disney instructors who are industry and content-area experts with years of practical experience in their fields, undergo training and work for up to 37.5 hours per week.

"Disney is a Fortune 500 company, so the College thought that this would be a terrific opportunity for our students," says Douglas Marketing instructor Christina Cawkell.

Chambers, who has never been to Florida, says the biggest challenge will be adapting to living away from home. "I'm living at home with my parents and have lived in the same environment with my friends all these years," she admits.

It will also be a new experience for Craig, who notes he hasn't been away from home "for any serious length of time."

"I'm looking forward to skipping winter," Craig adds with a laugh.

Published December 10, 2009

Links:

Bachelor of Business Administration
Marketing Management
Disney International J-1 Academic Exchange
Information Sessions
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