Nicholls Walt Disney World campus representatives will host presentations in Le Bijou Theatre on March 20 and March 21 in hopes of finding student interns for the summer and fall semesters.Tyrell Graves, general studies senior from Thibodaux and team leader of the Nicholls Walt Disney World campus representatives, said this is the first year that summer-only internships will be open to all students. Prior to this year, summer internships were reserved for alumni. The summer internship program will run from May to August.
Students interested in applying for the summer or fall internship are required to attend either the 5 p.m. presentation on March 20 or the 10 a.m. presentation on March 21. An information table will be set up in the Bollinger Memorial Student Union on these days as well.
“Prior to attending the mandatory presentation, students should fill out an application online and bring it to the presentation,” Graves said. “At the presentation, interviews will be scheduled, and students will receive a reply within two to three weeks indicating whether they were accepted or not.”
Graves said another change in this year’s internship program is the method of interviewing. Students will no longer be required to interview in person, but rather will speak with Walt Disney World representatives via telephone.
Last semester about 50 Nicholls students were accepted into the internship program, with about 30 students currently working in Disney World this semester. Graves said the number of Nicholls students accepted varies from semester to semester, with no number limitations. Walt Disney World representatives have been coming to campus since 2004, when Graves said the company began noticing several of its interns were Nicholls students who had applied for the internship at other universities.
“The internship is a great resume builder, especially since Disney is a Fortune 500 company,” Graves, who interned in spring 2002, said. “It also opens up the opportunity within the company for you to grow.”
Students accepted for the fall internship will be given the option of beginning their paid Disney job in late May/early June or in August. Both internship options last until January. Students are usually given jobs at Disney outlets based on their previous work experience or major. Graves, who worked the front desk at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, said the only costs students incur during the internship are living expenses. About $60 to $80 is automatically deducted from each of their paychecks to pay for the intern’s housing.
Graves said students receiving Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) can fill out paperwork to delay their scholarship.
“TOPS can be delayed if it is because of an internship,” Graves said. “Any scholarship will usually not have any problem being put on hold for a semester.”
Graves said classes are offered as a part of the internship program but only certain majors, such as general studies and culinary arts, accept the internship or the classes that the intern may enroll in at Disney.
“However, Disney is a great networking experience,” Graves said. “You meet lifelong friends, and it helps you become more diversified, especially when you’re from this town.”
Career Services and the Nicholls Walt Disney World campus representatives will also sponsor a movie night March 15 at 6 p.m. in Le Bijou Theatre, where they will show “The Incredibles.
