Fantastic Start to a Fantastic Job

Well, my Professional Internship is off to a running start! I work with Disney Housing Operations as the Communications Intern for College and International Program Participants. I know, it's a long title! But to speak simply, I help communicate info to all the kids participating in the Disney College Program!

So how all do I do that? Well, I work on things like the weekly email, I design posters and marketing materials for all housing events, I make slides for the Housing TV station, "Housing the Magic" and I'm the event photographer! It's getting close to a month since I've started, and it feels like I've always been here. The housing team is amazing. They make me, along with the other 5 Event Planning Interns, feel like family.

My specific internship is with Internal Communications. Obviously, that job is all around property, in the parks, in resort operations, transportation, safety...you-name-it. But being back at Housing with all the CPs is really quite a treat. I am meeting so many people, that it's sometimes hard to keep things straight!

Not only am I making amazing connections, I'm getting to do all sorts of behind the scenes meetings that I know wouldn't have been possible if I'd been anywhere else. I'm sure other locations are getting to do some awesome things as well, but not only am I in an office doing my work, I get to go on events like laser tag, the beach, baseball games, BINGO games, karaoke...to name a few! I've gotten to meet people in Entertainment, been friends with characters for the afternoon, met with people who design/install decorations for props in the parks on the East and West coast, been to developmental classes at Disney University, had communication meetings all over property, got trained on a Segway that we got to ride through EPCOT...phew! I'm probably forgetting many things...but we are kept busy!























Well the month of July is sort of the slow month for Housing, so I'm ready for the busy season to start! (I know I'll probably regret saying that in a month...) Fall CPs arrive all throughout August...it's the biggest month for arrivals, so I'm ready for more to do! I cannot wait to see what is in store for me in the coming weeks!

Until then...just remember, that technically, I'm getting to do all of this because of one little mouse ;)

New Ideas!

As I've quit my retail job while waiting for my Professional Internship to begin, I've had a lot of extra time on my hands. Granted, it's nice to finally have a break after 5 back-breaking years of constant school/work, but the artist in me is feeling deprived! I have a sketch book full of projects I've always wanted to do and never had time, and I think I've finally decided to finish up my Italy sketchbook. I have materials, paper scraps, photos, and a day-by-day journal of my month long trip that I plan to capture in a small 6X6 book. The one obstacle I face is making it feel like a real sketchbook, and not a scrapbook...which to me means I don't want to sit down and do it all in a weekend. I'm going to gradually add things when I'm feeling the need to be creative.

I came across some photos that sparked some inspiration, as they either remind of a place, a person, or a story during my time in Italy.





Fragola + Vanilla = my favorite gelato combo!



Towards the end of our trip, we went to Cinque Terre, a small town with Mediterranean coasts, and colorful houses that lined the rocky shores. It was without a doubt, one of the best days of the trip. Not only were there spectacular views, the people were friendly, we got some sun, and enjoyed the best Pina Colada's I've ever had in my life! I loved it so much I also did my own version.


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New Beginnings

Well here I am in my new apartment in Kissimmee, Florida. I have been here for almost two weeks, and so far things are great! Except for the part where I'm kind of lonely :/ My future roomie isn't here yet, so I still have a couple weeks of waiting! Luckily my brother is down here as well, so we've been hanging out a lot. Disney World is only 15 minutes away, so we've already taken several spontaneous trips to the parks!!!

Right now cast members get in for free to the water parks...which I've never been to before! So we are going to try and plan a trip there one day soon...which will be easier now that I've quit my job at Coach. I've been working for Coach since 2007, so I got my job in Texas to transfer here to the Orlando store while I'm waiting for my PI to start. Due to a lot of things, mostly personal, I've decided it would be best to quit. Plus, I've been in school for five years, and I could really use a break from everything. I want to be at my very best when my PI starts, and a break will help me do that :)

As for my apartment, I finally got my closet...looking like a closet! My room is coming together...now I just need to do my little art studio! I want to start painting again too. I think the next few things I'm going to do is a pen and ink of tomorrowland, and maybe a giant Cinderella's Castle!! I might re-read Harry Potter too. The 7th one. Because I've only read it once and I keep forgetting what happens! And I want to go to World of Harry Potter soon too! YAY!!! Maybe I'll paint the Hogwarts Castle? That would be cool! Ok, now I'm just being a nerd. Oh well.

Well Happy Memorial Day to everyone :) Bye!

Disney anyone?

Well, It's OFFICIAL!!! I am a soon-to-be Professional Intern for the Walt Disney Company! I will be working in Internal Communications in either a Resort, Park, or another specific area. Allow me to take you on a journey to how this unfolded....

The decision to apply for a Professional Internship (PI) has been on my mind since my return from the Disney College Program in the beginning of 2009. As I've said before, I became a campus rep at my University in order to help promote this amazing program! I wanted everyone to know about the opportunity, and to try and get people excited about Disney again! I mean, it's easy to get a six-year-old excited. But a 21-year-old college student? A bit more difficult to do.

I continued my studies in graphic design, visiting Disney a few times along the way, and trying to figure out what I wanted to do once I got back down there. The person who was most responsible for helping me find this out, was my recruiter, Erica Nowak. She helped connect me with artists who are doing design work for Disney right now, so I planned a trip back to Orlando to see them.

It was this past February when I went down to see them. I brought some work to show and got tips on writing a resume (which for an artist, is a bit more tricky than your standard resume). They also gave me insight on how they got where they were, their steps at the beginning, and how at a company as big as Disney, it's all about NETWORKING! Luckily I met with four different people, all from different departments, and all of whom helped enormously to shape my portfolio and resume.

Upon returning from that trip, it was all about getting my work ready for a portfolio to submit for different PIs. Lets just say, it took much longer than expected! I kept having to put it aside to focus on projects for my classes, or to run off to wok. By the time I got everything re-worked and into some semblance of a portfolio, it was days before the deadline in March. In the end, I applied for five different PIs in Arts & Graphics....and then let the waiting games begin!

A few days later, I received a few emails back, prompting me to upload my work, or for one, to assemble one and send it in. I was excited that the one that wanted a hard copy, Internal Communications, was the one that I wanted the most...so off to Kinko's I went to print it professionally and FedEx it straight to Orlando, FL!

They called soon after to set up phone interview for several of the PIs I applied for. Funnily enough, I was actually in Orlando again searching for apartments while the interview took place! I thought it went well, I had the lady laughing, and I feel like my passion for art and Disney came through...which is all I really wanted!

A week or two later it was the beginning of April and I got a call asking for a good time to set up a second interview. I was ecstatic!! I knew that this meant I had to have done good on the interview! YAY! The second interview was much more like a real interview, as opposed to the first which felt more like a chat on the phone. For this one, I was told up front that I was on speaker in front of hiring managers. I laughed a bit I said hello to them and I heard several voices back, maybe 7 or 8 people! So I got a little tongue tied on a few questions, but I still tried to remain calm and just be myself. They told me at the end of the interview, that I would find out a final decision in the first or second week of May.

I didn't know how I was going to be able to wait...and I knew that getting this PI would be a long shot...so just in case it didn't go my way, I went ahead and applied for another College Program for the fall. The fact that I had already gone down to Orlando to find an apartment and put money down meant I needed a back up plan! That interview went well of course, and I got a spot in Photopass Photography which was great because it still has to do with my degree. Plus, on top of that, my retail job at COACH said they'd let me transfer and work there over the summer.

I'm a planner, can you tell? I like to know what's going to happen, and I like to have control! (I'm trying to back off a bit these days though!!)

Well it was a good back-up plan...but not needed as not a week went by and they called to offer me a position as a PI for Internal Communications!!!!! They called me while I was in my Watercolor class, and I let my prof know that I had to step out. When I came back in, I was in tears, and my class all assumed I didn't get it. It was great to be able to tell them that I had in fact gotten it, I was just so happy that I was crying!

It feels awesome that all of my hard work has paid off. I'm so amazed that on top of that, I got the PI that I wanted the most :)


So today is May 6, 2010. Tomorrow is my HUGE end of the year senior art show, called Exit Review. It's a big big big deal, sort of a culmination of 5 years of college in a big ballroom condensed into 3 hours of 85 nervous, soon-to-be grads and 100s of guests circling to observe, and judge etc.

My point? That once this is over I am homeFREE! I graduate a week from Saturday, and move five days later to ORLANDO, FLORIDA!!

I am so ready to start my next adventure!!!!!

Artwork!

I was inspired to do this little series because of some photographs I found of exotic animals. The pictures were so beautiful I couldn't resist coloring them up and painting them! (Photos taken by Nicolas Evariste)




I enjoy drawing still life's, but I must admit that it takes several hours just to draw an 11X14 vase of flowers with ink and a calligraphy pen! I found after a while that using pencil before hand restricts the line once you go to ink it...so best to skip the graphite and just go for it!

This semester, I am taking a pretty light load, as I'm nearing the finish line. I have Art Directions II, Watercolor, Editorial Illustration, and Illustration Techniques. I'm also in Exit Review, which only meets once a month, but it's meant to help prepare for graduation. We'll work on portfolios and resumes, that sort of thing.

So I've been doing a lot of watercolor work this semester, here's some quick pen and ink sketches done from a live model (who brought her daughter along...that was interesting!) Each sketch was done live in 10 minutes, with a quick watercolor wash on top.

I'll be posting more work from classes as I go along, hopefully it will get me to finally scan everything into my computer!

Here I Go

Alright...it has been a decade since I've known about blogging, I figured, now is as good as any to start one up. It makes sense, my life is floating around, about to change drastically in...lets see, 84 days? Because in 85 days, I will be a new college graduate, and at the rate I'm going, I'll be packing up my little life in San Marcos, TX to travel 1,127 miles to Orlando, FL!

Why? Because of a dream. I've been dreaming of working for Disney for some time now. And it has already partially come true! Back in 2008, I started working at Walt Disney World in Florida on the Disney College Program. I loved every minute I was there, met so many great people, and learned so much about myself. When I returned home after 5 months, I missed it every day. It's February 2010, and still, I daydream about being back there all the time.

Of course I returned home to Texas so I could complete my degree, but I knew from then on that Disney was going to be in my future. No matter what. So upon my return, I joined my University's Disney Campus Rep team to help promote the program. I've been volunteering my time for over a year now, and love being connected to Disney from Texas.

As for the next step in my life, I will be applying for a Professional Internship within the month to hopefully go back to Florida and work in my field.