By Megan Brown, Student Reporter
A Northwestern Oklahoma State University student is gearing up to take on an internship with the most magical place on earth, Disney.
Jesus “Chuy” Dominguez, a sophomore mass communication major, has been accepted into the Disney College Program, a national internship program at both Disney World and Disney Land. Dominguez said he is leaving in August of 2020 to begin this journey and returning in January of 2021.
“I would definitely love to stay longer,” Dominguez said.
The internship will provide on the job training, housing and college credits.
“My role has not been received yet, but I don’t mind any role they may give me,” Dominguez said. “They range from working as entertainers, operations, lodging, retail, sales, and food and beverage.”
Applying for an internship with Disney can be a long process. Dominguez said it was nerve-wracking and lengthy. The process consists of an online application that covers work experience and leadership skills. After the application and leadership skills, next is a web-based interview.
“The web-based interview is mainly a personality test to see if Disney thinks you’re capable of handling situations correctly,” Dominguez said. “This test is online and timed for one minute per each question. Not everyone proceeds to this step and it was challenging to evaluate myself in such a timely manner.”
The final step of the application process is the phone interview. Dominguez said his recruiter kept the interview conversational and discussed the information from his beginning application.
“I felt like I was talking to my best friend,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez said he chose to apply for this program after his friend, Jacob Gill, invited him to Florida to check out what the internship had to offer.
Dominguez will receive some perks along with his acceptance into the program including free park admission and some free tickets for his family and friends to visit.
“The smiles, laughter and that magic feeling just warms your heart,” Dominguez said. “Seeing all the cast members having the time of their life working for Disney and feeling the magic every day made me wish I could join the program.”
At this point in time, both Disney locations are closing the parks. The decision was made to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The shutdown has resulted in the current interns having to leave their positions three months early.
“It kind of worries me not knowing if the fall program will be canceled too,” Dominguez said. “I would much rather it be postponed.”