Our International Tourism Management, second-year student, Amelia Giaffreda is about to embark on a 2-month summer internship at Walt Disney World. Here’s a bit more about her internship.
“I am going to be working in merchandise in All-Star Movies Resort as part of the Cultural Exchange Programme at Walt Disney World. My journey began back in September when I had a pre-screen interview with Yummy Jobs. I then found out in October I had passed this stage and was invited to Disney Headquarters in London in November for a final interview with a senior international recruiter from Disney. In December I received the extremely exciting news that I had been offered the job and am going to be spending the summer in the USA!
I am going on the 10th June and I come back on the 18th August which means I have lots of time to explore the parks and surrounding area on my days off! I have been in touch with some people from the UK who are also working in merchandise who sound lovely so I’m really excited to get to know them better as well and do things such as watching the Disney fireworks and explore the parks! I am also really looking forward to being able to live and work in a new country as this will pose new opportunities and challenges such as using a different currency and participating in Disney Traditions which is my training programme where I will learn how to provide the Disney magic to guests!
My main expectations for the programme are to meet people from around the world and learn more about the US culture. The Cultural Exchange Programme is offered to university students from around the world, so I feel extremely lucky to be able to represent the UK. As part of our programme, we have to complete one US-based cultural activity each month so this will be a fantastic way for me to learn about the culture and try some new things! This internship is not only going to help expand my cultural awareness, but it will also enhance my employability and compliment my degree as I am studying International Tourism Management. I am gaining work experience from a globally recognised company which has significantly impacted the tourism industry. As I am working in merchandise, I am able to see how Disney promotes their products to guests which would tie back into marketing.
I am most excited for the people that I am going to meet and the experiences that I am going to gain having worked here. It is a dream come true to be able to work for a global company such as Disney especially as I am still at university!”
