I was wondering if you had any information on the Disney college program or if you know how well rounded and involved they look for students to be on applications and resumes?

Walt Disney World has always held a special place in my heart and inspired me to pursue engineering, something I never thought I could do. Now I am going into my senior year as a civil engineering student. I have been struggling to get my GPA up from a 2.975 to a 3.0 for about two years now so that I could apply for Disney internships. Now I am considering the college program as well as I am feeling discouraged about being able to gain that last 0.034 points on my GPA. I am a member of the student chapter for the American Society of Civil Engineers, was a three year member of the FSU Marching Chiefs, and have completed a summer internship with public works engineers as well. Should I be more involved and find more groups to participate in for my last year of school?

Being an Imagineer has been a life long dream of mine, and I honestly can't picture my life being any other way. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Areas of Impact Construction , Environment , Materials , Transportation & Travel

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Kim Wheeler , Abbott

Answered Tuesday, August 28, 2018 at 5:10 PM

Hey Cary, first of all, please do not be discouraged! Engineering coursework is HARD no matter who you are and to me GPA isn't always the best indicator of who's the right candidate for the job. Having said that, unfortunately that is one of the requirements for Disney Internships. But the college program is certainly a great way to get your foot in the door! The college program is one step to getting inside the company, where you can take the Engineering PDS class, network with engineers and other professionals in your field or just learn the Disney way!

However, there are so many other avenues to get to where you want to be! For example, Disney hires several outside contractors and vendors to do work all the time. That could be a great first step to learn the industry and then apply for Disney after you get a couple of years of experience under your belt. The Orlando area is crawling with companies (check out the Themed Entertainment Association, or TEA) in this industry who do work for both Disney and Universal as well as other major theme parks around the world. Oceaneering is another great example. 

As for the activities to participate your senior year, I would say it is your senior year, enjoy it! Do what you have passion around (it seems like you already are!) and the rest will follow.

I hope this helps

Kim