‘We’re going to Disney World!’: SDSU students head to Florida for internship program

The “Mesa to Mickey” pipeline is alive and well at San Diego State University. 

The Walt Disney Company has found a fertile recruiting ground at SDSU, selecting 14 students — of more than 30 who applied — for the Disney College Program, to be placed at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, this fall. 

As part of the paid semesterlong internship program, students receive on-the-job training in one of approximately 20 guest interfacing roles in its parks and resorts. They will also be able to take advantage of unique learning and networking experiences, all while living in a vibrant housing complex with participants from all over the world.

The SDSU students’ success is no accident but rather the product of a carefully planned industry engagement strategy spearheaded by SDSU Career Services, which is paying dividends for students and employers in a number of industries.

“The Disney College Program likely received thousands of applicants from around the country and probably the globe, so to have 14 of our own students be accepted into this highly-coveted internship program really shows the impact of our services on students' career prospects and their preparedness for the workforce,” said Career Services executive director Daniel Newell. “This also shows that SDSU is a top talent pool, where employers can source well-rounded, prepared, diverse and competent talent for their college program.”

Thousands of students representing over 1,600 colleges and universities participate in the Disney College Program in Orlando every semester, though program recruiter Courtland Jackson said that having 14 from a single school is significant. 

“We definitely see great talent at SDSU and are excited to have 14 students participating this upcoming fall,” Jackson said. 

Career Services’ multipronged engagement strategy focuses on close partnerships with five key categories of industry access points: campus, government, private, nonprofit and media — the latter by way of SDSU Strategic Communications and Public Affairs, StratComm. 

These partnerships refer and connect industry leads as Career Services simultaneously targets specific organizations and networks for job and internship development. 

Additionally, Career Services assigned liaisons from within the department to attract new employers from 12 industry pathways to attend job fairs and support other Career Services-led activities, with a focus on achieving student employment outcomes.

The result: Career Services has registered over 14,000 new employers in over a year, which has resulted in a record high number of employers attending Career Services recruiting events. 

This, Newell said, directly creates more opportunities for students to find career options after college as well as paid internships during their college years, a high impact practice that research shows leads to greater retention and graduation rates. 

In the case of Disney, Career Services was able to build on an existing relationship between Disney College Program and SDSU Global Campus, which were longtime partners on a former program that placed SDSU international students into yearlong internships at Disney World.

Jackson said the partnership with Career Services has already yielded impressive results. 

“Career Services has been an amazing partner in terms of bringing visibility of the program to different departments and areas on campus and getting the word out about the opportunities at Disney,” he said. “When we returned from the pandemic, we had three or four SDSU students a year in the program. Now, we’re at three times that number in just the first semester under the full strategy.

“We are very excited about where the partnership will go in the future,” Jackson said. 

Newell outlined several steps that Career Services will take in the upcoming school year to grow the partnership. 

“Career Services intends to strengthen its valuable partnership with Disney College by coordinating with their team to host engagement events and more for students in the coming semesters,” Newell said. “We may also explore a career trek, a (student) field trip to a Disney location to learn more about their career pathways,” Newell added. 

One SDSU student who recently completed an internship with the Disney College Program praised Career Services for spotlighting the opportunity, which he called “pretty close to once in a lifetime,” to students. 

Joshua Summers, a second-year journalism and media studies student from Rancho Cucamonga, California, said he had just intended to “get done with school” before learning about the program. He worked in food service on the Orlando campus, which he said taught him a number of lessons, including how to run a business, interface with guests and fellow employees and adopting Disney’s high standards of customer service. 

For Summers, the experience will continue this year as Disney has hired he and another student to serve as ambassadors to the program on SDSU’s campus.  

“It was absolutely amazing,” Summers said. “The amount of fun I had, the connections I made, the friends I made from across the country and the world, just expanding my bubble, it might not technically be a once in a lifetime opportunity, but it’s pretty dang close.

“Career Services is trying to get students out of their shell and as involved as possible by giving them a bunch of opportunities to succeed, and that’s a great thing,” Summers said. “Ultimately, it’s up to each of us students to take advantage of the opportunities they provide, but if you do, it can be a very positive thing for your future.”