To whom it may concern,

I would like to reflect back on my feelings of the College Program here at Disney. I am a recent graduate from the Pennsylvania State University. My degree is in theatre with an emphasis in lighting and scenic design. Disney was a way for me to get into a big corporation and try working in the entertainment field. When I applied, I had chosen costuming as my first choice since it seemed to be the one that was closest to my major. During the interview I was asked if I would not mind working with soiled clothes and do laundry, which at the time, I was completely fine with doing, if needed. I was not under the impression that after four years of paying thousands upon thousands of dollars to graduate from college, only to work with soiled clothes and laundry for an average of 4 to 7 hours a day. I am quite disappointed in myself for assuming that an internship was to teach and learn something new in a certain field. If this was what I wanted, I would have graduated from high school and gone straight to slave labor. This way, I could have saved all the time and money I spent on my education. Another disappointment with the internship seems to be that I am the only one I know of who has yet to be trained in more that one area. I work in the character room at Magic Kingdom and only know the operations of that room. I do not know any parade, show, or even how to work with the fairies. There may be different tracks in the room, but I will be doing laundry/soil for hours each day. When I spoke with two different managers I was told that ‘you have to talk to the costuming manager because I can’t do anything.’ So I emailed him and got told that I am on a list. A list! I am an intern that is only here for 5 months and I am already past half way through my time here. I do not have much longer and cannot afford to be put on a so-called list. For example, there are only four people trained to work with the fairies. When the costuming department was short one day, there was chaos trying to move people around. Would it not save time and money in the long run if everyone was trained on the fairies? As I look back, I have learned a lot. One thing I have learned is that companies sugar coat job descriptions to get people to work unwanted positions. It is not fair, but we cannot control that. Another thing is that big corporations still have a lack of communication just like smaller corporations. I also learned that a smaller corporation would be better to work with so I could be someone, not a simple college program participant that can be stuck doing whatever needs to be done. So, overall, I have learned a lot through this process and thus I am thankful that I am sticking it out but I do not think that I could recommend working here to anyone who was thinking about working in costuming because my experience was not helpful or a learning experience.