On January 9th, I officially started the Disney College Program. It was a very interesting experience. I did it all on my own, no parents, friends, or anyone I knew. I took an Uber from my hotel to the apartment complex. I checked in with my ID and gave them my luggage.

Once I did that, I went on a bus and went to the other apartment complex. I followed a line of other people who also visibly were brand new like me and we went onto a grassy field. We then all filled out a form on our phone and had someone check that we completed it. From there we went into a room for a 15 minute presentation talking about the general rules for the program. Basic things like don’t have drugs in your room, don’t have guests past 1AM, paying your electricity bill, etc. It was very helpful and answered many of my questions. After that they took our photo for our ID and then we left. At first I was honestly a bit lost and confused as it only took up about 3 hours of the day. I had nothing else planned to do that day. I understand a lot of people had their parents there so they all went out with their families but I was completely alone so I just walked to my apartment.

Right when I walked in there was one of my roommates in the living room. I have 3 roommates, 2 live on one side of the apartment and the other 1 lives a door away from me and we share a bathroom together. The roommate I met was 1 of the 2 from the other side. She’s been in the program since November and is leaving in February. She works at Animal Kingdom and she has really enjoyed the program. Both the other two roommates from the other side are from Brazil which is super cool! I then walked into my room which I loved!!!!! It is my own private room with a big window, a perfect size closet with mirror doors, a queen bed, and a dresser. It is the perfect room I am so happy and I can’t wait to decorate it more!!! Then you walk out the room into my shared bathroom with my roommate. It is two sinks with a huge mirror and lots of under cabinet space. There is also another door connecting to the bathroom with a toilet and shower. I also forgot to mention there is a full kitchen and living room!!!!! The kitchen has everything you could think of and the living room is perfect. It is a major upgrade from my dorm room!! I love the space so much and I couldn’t be more grateful.

I spent a lot of time enjoying this brand new addition to my life then I started to unpack. I realized I needed a few more things so I walked 15 minutes to the target across the street. I got bed sheets and some groceries. I felt like a grown up getting my own groceries for my apartment. Then I came back, took a nap, then did some more unpacking. My roommate came in later that night and she was so nice!! Her and I have gotten along very well. The first day, while being a bit stressful, was overall a super fun and great experience.

The next day went by extremely quick. I woke up, got background checked/finger printed, did my online class, then I went to a welcome event, got boba with my roommate, and went back to the apartment. It wasn’t super eventful but still a good day.

Today as I am writing this blog post it is my third day. All I’ve done today is get up and do some online work. I have an important event in about 2 hours that I am going too. I will write more about that later.

So far this experience has been really interesting as I am learning so much more and more about what it is like to be alone in the real world. More to come!

The month of December is a lot like November. In November the company’s campaign deals with “Black Friday” deals and sales, but in December the company’s campaign deals with “Holideals” deals and sales (instead of Holidays). With November’s campaign, social media posts went out every week, but for December’s “Holideals” social media posts will go out once everyday for 12 days. On each day, a social media post will highlight a deal or sale on select items and/or surgical equipment. These posts may also be turned into flyers or emails and sent to certain customers. Because The end of November and the Start of December are in the middle of the week, the first “holideals’ social media post will go out at the start of the first full week of December, with a social media post that will be posted the week prior and will introduce and promote December’s campaign. The workflow for this task was very similar to the workflow for November’s promotion. I was given all of the information at once and worked on creating content for each of the days in the order that they were prioritized. For example, a social media post for December 8th would need to at least be created and posted before December 9th and the 9th before the 10th, etc.

Unlike creating content for other tasks and promotions, it has been nearly impossible to find myself struggling with designs and layouts because all of the daily posts will follow the same design layout but with different wording for each day. Following this promotion, the rest of my task will consist of creating social media posts for the upcoming holidays and completing my usual weekly/daily responsibilities.

For the month of November the company promotes their “early Black Friday” and “Black Friday” deals and offers for their customers. These promotions are sent out and posted once a week via Facebook. The company’s goal is to post a new promotion once a week that highlights either a new set of equipment or instruments that are offered at a discounted price, or deals a customer could get on trading-in or repairing older/used equipment and instruments. A portion of these posts will also be sent directly to certain customers via email (my supervisor takes the content I create, revises it, and sends these emails to the intended customers herself). The last week of October is when I scheduled and posted the first promotion post that introduces the “early black Friday” sales and offers. From there, I spent the remainder of that week and the first half of the following week working on and completing the upcoming promotion posts for the month of November. All of the information for these promotions were posted onto a task board (Asana) by my supervisor, and were to be completed by me in the order in which they were prioritized. For example, the promotion post for November 7th would have priority over the promotion post for November 14th and needed to be completed by its date, because the 7th is sooner than the 14th. This pattern will recur until the last Promotion post is scheduled and posted to the company’s Facebook page (November 28). 

The company also did this promotion last year, and oftentimes I’ve learned that they recycle their own ideas and content. However, this year my supervisor wanted this promotion to have a newer and more modern design, especially since it would be posted on social media (Facebook). While working on this task, I initially felt overwhelmed by the amount of specific information that was required to be put together, all while needing to fit into a new layout and design. But as my supervisor gave me feedback on my sketches and ideas, I was quickly able to work more comfortably and efficiently on these tasks.

October is breast cancer awareness month. Every October the company promotes their “pink” campaign. This is when they have a sale and deals on a selection of their surgical equipment, with a portion of the profit they make being donated to breast cancer research. For this, my responsibilities have consisted of coming up with a new design and layout for this promotion with flyers that will be sent out to certain customers and for Facebook posts. This was the first task I’ve worked on that had multiple parts, so at first I constantly found myself a bit delayed with coming up with new layouts mainly because it felt like I either didn’t have enough space on the page to work with, or because my vision and ideas started to become somewhat repetitive. My weekly meetings/sit downs with my supervisor were really helpful in these instances. We are able to collaborate and go back and forth with ideas to get original and creative results.

I only had to create enough content for a handful of posts for this task(s). For the Facebook posts, there were about 4 in total  with one being posted at the end of September (this post introduced breast cancer awareness sales and donations). The company’s official colors mainly consist of white and different shades of blue, so I found it interesting getting away from the original “theme” and colors by using the color pink for all of the content. I had to incorporate pictures of different equipment and products for some of the posts (some of which I may have taken in my previous photography internship position). Overall, this is what I consistently worked on throughout the month of October, with smaller tasks and assignments in between.

Some of my weekly/daily tasks and responsibilities include creating content for campaigns/promotions, holidays, flyers, customers and social media. Most of the time, a lot of this content is created and scheduled quite a bit of time before it’s actually put out or posted for viewing. Often times, information is given to my supervisor and then some of that information is given to me to be turned into content meant for social media or the company’s website. Right now, I have scheduled social media posts all the way up into early next year (January-February 2023). Specifically, some of the things I am given to work on and complete on daily and weekly basis involve, taking customer reviews and testimonials  and putting them on social media and/or the company’s website, creating ads/flyers/social media posts for the company’s mobile on-site repair service (Instrument Surgeon), creating content for campaigns and promotions that will be posted on social media and be sent out to customers and lastly, organizing all of my work within the content creation programs and desk top, and from there, checking off all my task for completion once I finish and have them approved. 

What I have found most challenging and what I have asked for most assistance on so far, is coming up with and creating different layouts and designs for social media posts. Fortunately, these layouts and designs don’t all have to be completely different, however none of them should be the exactly the same, especially those that contain similar information. Sometimes I am able to mess around with the content creation programs (Canva) and eventually come up with something fresh that is different from other layouts and designs, and is cohesive for the viewer(s). Other times I schedule times to meet with my supervisor to receive feedback and brainstorm ideas. I find these meetings to be very productive because of this.

Starting the digital/social marketing internship at Surgical Direct this fall was not very unfamiliar. I worked as an intern for this company over this past summer but in a different intern position (photography intern). Yes, these responsibilities are quite different from the last intern position, but the staff, with the addition of a few new members, and the areas where I work in the building are overall the same. On the first day of my internship (Sep. 6) my supervisor gave me a variety of login information to the different programs and methods of communication we use. I was given an intern email account (outlook), an intern canvas account to work and create content under, an intern Asana account to review my tasks and lastly, access to the company’s social media accounts so that as I create content, I can schedule and post it. My responsibilities as a digital marketing intern for Surgical Direct are developing content ideas and launching new campaigns, creating social media posts and content for the calendar year, designing flyers of good quality and developing strategies for growth on social media platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn).  I work directly with my supervisor (Director of Marketing), so it is very uncommon for there to be any barriers with communication and/or asking questions. We meet one to two times a week to go over my completed task and to talk about future tasks, goals and deadlines.

 What I think I have appreciated most so far during this internship with Surgical Direct (and even the last intern position) is that I don’t feel micromanaged and oftentimes I’m able to solve problems myself. I quickly realized a lot of “problems” can be resolved quickly or with a simple trick, when I pause and think back to my training and to the tools given to me. Sure, there are times where I seek help if it is something out of my control or something that I don’t know how to do/fix, which in those cases, I resolve those issues alongside my supervisor.

As my internship ends, I reflect on the events of my summer at Disney with accomplishment. As a student athlete, it has been my first full-time position (not dribbling a basketball). My desire was to work with creatives and understand the business of art.

Disney is an amazing company to have on my resume as I move from college to the working world. Learning that I am good at building professional relationships, even though the work was less than stimulating, is a good skill set to enhance. My coordinator has urged me to apply for a coordinator position because they loved my work ethic and people skills. It is a nice compliment but I want to finish college and focus on a more creative endeavor.

My focus on safety did provide and appreciation as an artist of many challenges that will arrive as I continue to pursue installation art. My mind constantly raced about creative elements in the park but had no exposure to the “creatives” I would hope to encounter at Disney.

I did meet a former Stetson University Women’s Basketball Player who was coming through the line at Buzz Lightyear. She played for the prior head coach but I invited her to come to a game this fall. From the one line on my nametag, I never expected that to happen.

I will continue to come to the Parks as an annual passholder with my family but have a very different perspective on the operations and the work behind the magic.

I am looking forward to my return to studio classes, basketball and a very hectic senior year. However, more importantly I learned I am really quite amazing. I am an intelligent, well-spoken leader among my peers. I can do anything that I set my mind to and I always bring the magic.

A focus of mine has been light during the past year in my artwork. Some of my work has studied how light can define and transform. I have been documenting it this summer through photos, as I will continue to study it this year in my studio work.

The nighttime displays at the Parks are spectacular. I have experienced them as a guest in my younger years and this summer as a cast member. As a cast member I worked mostly nights at Magic Kingdom, so the fireworks are a part of my daily routine. It is the biggest production for the Magic Kingdom Park daily. The music and light transforms Cinderella’s Castle at the Magic Kingdom for thousands of guests nightly. EPCOT has a nighttime extravaganza on the pond in the center of the countries. As a guest, I have seen all of the nighttime displays. Pre-pandemic both Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom also had nighttime displays. The elements used to display the projections included on screens, sails, water mist and castles. The music and narration is an essential part of the production by capturing a mood, inspiring through tremendous storytelling and a final crescendo sharing visions of magic and goodness in the world. These shows are productions that do not disappoint. Spoiler alert – Just to share in insider look, Tinkerbell flies from Cinderella’s castle toward Tomorrowland every night. Tinkerbell lands back stage in Tomorrowland behind the Buzz Lightyear ride. Truly magical to witness.

As an artist, I will continue to explore light in my fall semester in my art studio and in my theater class with stage lighting and filters.

Context in installation art is important.

The rides themselves are interactive art installations. However, these installations are in context due to immersive lands. The Lands at Magic Kingdom are intentional. Every concept is well thought out and planned in detail. The music played in the land, the transitions between lands, and the smells in the lands including the themed food offerings including the restaurants.

The lands in Magic Kingdom include Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and are all organized around the HUB and Mainstreet USA. As a detailed example, let us review the transition from Fantasyland (Cinderella’s castle, Belle’s castle, Aerial’s castle, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Winnie the Pooh, Tea Cups and more) to Tomorrowland (Motor Speedway, Space Mountain, Astro Orbiter, TTA and more). The elements include sound when passing the sound teacups as you approach the motor speedway. Lights change from low non-descript lighting by Winnie the Pooh to the towering Astro Orbiter along with the underside of the TTA illuminated red and Space Mountain in the distance.

In my opinion, the greatest transition is at Hollywood Studios. The park begins with Mainstreet Hollywood. Once passing the Sci-Fi Diner and the Muppet Theater there is what appears to be a subway entrance. Then the elements of another world begins. Symbols, trashcans, materials, sound and music change. A moment later, you have left earth and have travelled to a new galaxy. All cast member in this galaxy have in-depth training and if you speak with the cast, they each have an extensive back-story.

Fun fact – when I went to the Parks with my mom (who was wearing a Star Wars shirt) for her birthday, a cast member wrote her name in the alphabet used in Star Wars (which she LOVED)!