Friday August 29, 2014

Phone Interview

GUESS WHAT?!  Today is the day of my phone interview!!  I can't believe today is really here!  I've been waiting for so long to finally be able to do this and explain all the reasons for why I want to participate in this program!  I'm so so happy!  Only a few more hours!  Talk to y'all soon...

 

Two and a Half Hours Later...

 

Ahh I can't believe I just had my phone interview!!  I'm going to start from the very beginning and explain everything I can without making this blog super long.  So, last night I could barely sleep!  I had a horrible dream that I had missed my phone interview call and I was so upset!  On top of that, this week has been very long and so I was really tired.  Whenever I get really tired, I start sneezing for some reason. Last night I started sneezing and I felt awful, and when I woke up this morning, I was still sneezing, and I had a sore throat.  Usually, my runny noses go away, but of course not today on this BIG DAY! Of all days, the one day that I've been waiting for so long for I had to be kind of sick for.  I was so upset, but I knew I would just have to make the best of it.  I only had one class this morning from 9-9:50 AM.  Immediately after class, I came back to my dorm to start preparing for my interview and finished the last touches to the flashcards I was making.  I wanted to make inspirational cards that said "SMILE", "THINK DISNEY", "THIS IS SO EXCITING", and "BE YOURSELF" just to make me smile and be happy during my phone interview.  I also made a little sign that I taped on the front of the door of my dorm so that no one disturbed me during my interview.  I had my Disney frame on my nightstand and my pink, little Minnie Mouse doll sitting next to me on my bed.  Let's just say, I was really excited for this BIG MOMENT!

 



 

My phone interview was scheduled for 11:30 AM Central Time.  My nerves started getting the best of me around 11:00 AM.  I was listening to Disney on Pandora from the time I got back from class until my interview.  I initially was going to do my interview in a study room at the end of our hall, but my roommate told me that she was going to go to lunch with her sister, so I ended up just staying in our room.  I really wanted to record my interview on my camera just for and memories and so that I could rewatch it if I ever wanted to.  I was messaging some of the girls on the FaceBook page and I started to get really emotional as I was waiting thinking that THIS MOMENT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING!

At around 11:25 AM I went and pressed play so that my camera could record and then finished listening to "Circle of Life" from the Lion King on Pandora.  Literally like five seconds after that, my phone started ringing!!!!  It showed up as a NO CALLER ID so I knew it had to be Disney!  My heart was racing!  I answered the phone and my interviewer was so nice!!  I didn't catch her name and I'm not even sure if she said her name, but the interview went very well.  It lasted 24 minutes and I didn't really feel like she asked me that many questions.  I was smiling and laughing the entire time!  I felt like I was having an actual conversation with my best friend which is something that I know everyone says, but it really did feel that way.  Of course, I was really nervous in the beginning, but the longer the interview lasted, I began to feel more relaxed and comfortable talking with her.  We talked a lot about my work experience and discussed which roles I was interested in and my reasons for choosing those as my top roles.  At the end of the interview, she told me that acceptances probably would not come out until mid-to-late October!  I'm going to hate waiting that long!  But I hope that THE WAIT WILL ALL BE WORTH IT IN THE END!

So yeah!  That was my phone interview!  She asked me typical questions about what type of conditions I would rather work in and how I would like living with multiple roommates.  I asked her about how to register for classes through the Disney College Program because I am really interested in taking the Disney Heritage class and she said that if I were to be accepted that they would send all that information out through email.  I also asked her if she wouldn't mind telling me how she got started with Disney in case she didn't have time, but she told me that she also participated in the College Program a little while back and has loved seeing how much has changed and transformed with the program over the years.  I feel very good about my interview because I know that I did all that I could at this point and now it's their decision.  I don't want to get my hopes up, but I really want to be a part of this program so much!  All I can do for now is just cross my fingers and hope that if this is in God's plan for my life, than everything will work out MAGICALLY! When October comes, I'll update you guys about my progress with the program.  But until then, I hope to be posting weekly blogs and small updates if I find out any new news!  I also plan on officially starting my YouTube vlog channel very soon!!  I already have a channel with a couple videos already on there, but none yet about the Disney College Program.  Hope you all have a magical day and thanks for reading!

~ Krista Lauren Girod

 

Okay hey everyone!!  Sorry, I decided to edit this blog because I received an email this morning, Saturday August 30, 2014 saying "Thank You for Interviewing."  The email was actually sent late last night, but I noticed it in my inbox this morning.  I also checked my dashboard periodically throughout today and my status still says "IN PROGRESS" so that's a good sign!!  My fingers are crossed that everything works out and sometime in October I will hopefully know something!!  I just had to mention this real quick!  Talk to you again real soon!

 





Sunday August 24, 2014

I APPLIED!!

Okay, so I'm just going to start from the beginning and explain everything that has been going on in the past few days!  I moved back to Hattiesburg, Mississippi on Wednesday August 13th to start my sophomore year of college!  I was so busy with Golden Eagle Welcome Week and getting all settled in for a new year that I didn't have much time to watch Disney vlogs like I had been all summer!  I had seen some posts on the Disney College Program Spring/Spring Advantage 2015 Facebook group saying that applications might be coming out on Wednesday August 20th.  I wasn't actually sure what to believe, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to check the Disney College Program website to see if they were out or not that day.  Well, August 20th was my first day of classes so I had checked the website before my first class and nothing was showing up online.  I got to my first class a little early so I had some time to search Facebook some more before class started and GUESS WHAT??  Someone had posted that apps were officially out!!  EEEEPPP!  I couldn't have been more excited!  I couldn't wait to go back to my dorm after class to see for myself! 

 

I ended up being really busy Wednesday and I didn't want to apply really late at night, so I waited till Thursday morning on August 21st to apply.  I had one morning class, but as soon as class was over, I came back to my dorm and sat down to apply.  The application was pretty simple, it just took me a little while to fill it out because this is my first time applying and I really wanted to take my time with the application and read everything carefully!  There were a bunch of different pages that I had to fill out, but it wasn't hard at all.  I remember them asking to verify my school history - like my grade classification and school name - work experience (which took some time) - volunteer experience - role interest - and consent for a background check.  Choosing my interest in all of the roles was definitely my favorite part of the entire application.  I chose high interest for merchandise, attractions, and quick service food and beverage because I really want a role that allows for a lot of guest interaction since I love talking with people and I feel like those roles will help benefit me the most with my major.  I only chose no interest for the roles I really couldn't see myself working which were lifeguarding, recreation, and transportation, but everything else I chose moderate or low interest.  After I finished filling out the application, I clicked SUBMIT and then went to my next class for the day!

 

I was really nervous after submitting the application because I know it's a possibility that those applying could be in submission, but luckily, only about an hour and half after applying, I received an email saying that I could take the Web Based Interview!

Once all my classes were finished on Thursday, I came back to my dorm again and filled out the Web Based Interview while my roommate was at band practice.  I was so nervous to take it because I knew it was timed and I know that this is kind of the make it or break it factor that may lead to a phone interview!  I took a deep breath and started the interview.  It was divided into three sections.  I don't remember a lot of the questions asked, but I can see how they try to trick you.  Just focus and pay attention to how you answer a previous question in case they ask again, but if you are honest with every answer, then you shouldn't have a problem.  I didn't know if there was going to be a submit button, so I just kept clicking next until a new page came up saying that my next step was the phone interview!  I literally sat back and took a deep breath and then starting squealing with excitement!  I was soo happy!!!  I immediately called my parents and my mom was like, "So when's your phone interview?!" and I told her than I didn't know yet cause I was waiting for them to send another email for me to schedule it.  I told her that I was just too excited and had to call her right away!

I received another email about ten minutes after allowing me to schedule my phone interview!!  I'm getting so so excited as a type this right now!  I ended up scheduling my phone interview a week later for FRIDAY AUGUST 29TH.  I wanted to give myself time to prepare, plus I wanted to schedule it on a day that I wouldn't be too busy since Friday I only have one morning class.  My interview time is for 11:30 AM CENTRAL TIME!  I will let y'all all know how it goes!!  Can't wait!

~ Krista Lauren Girod

 

 

 



Saturday August 23, 2014

THE BEGINNING....

Hey everyone!!  My name is Krista Girod and I'm applying for the Disney College Program Spring Advantage 2015.  I know I've already introduced myself a bunch of times on this blog, but I just figured I would write it all out again for my very FIRST BLOG POST! I kind of wanted to start off by explaining how I came to find out about the Disney College Program, why I would like to participate in this program, and how I chose when the best time would be to apply so here it goes...

 

It's actually kind of a funny story how I first found out about the Disney College Program.  I have been going to the parks at least once every year since I was five, but I first found out about the program the spring before my freshman year of college.  I was about to graduate high school in the Spring of 2013 and one night for dinner, our waitress at the Cracker Barrel left a receipt with her name and it said something along the lines of, "HAVE A MAGICAL DAY!" My dad sparked a conversation with her and she began to tell us how she was just about to leave to go to Florida for the Disney College Program.  I had somewhat heard of the program before, but had no idea what it was all about and how it worked.  She seemed really excited about it and it made me think more about applying for it.  I knew it was a college program so I figured I would have to be in college which I was about to start in the fall, but I was so confused about how the classes worked and what the program really consisted of. 

 

I never really researched anything about the program that whole summer because I was really busy getting things prepared for my first year of college.  Once I got to Southern Miss, I noticed some tables set up in our main union area and posters hung up in our dorm advertising the program, but honestly, I was more excited about starting my freshman year than thinking about applying for the program. 

 

During my winter break, I got home and something made me think about the Disney College Program so I researched it on the Internet and that's when my obsession with watching DCP vlogs all started. HAHA!! I remember the very first video I watched regarding the program was one of the DIS Unplugged videos on YouTube.  It was about an hour long and I watched the entire thing in one sitting.  I recommend that video for anyone thinking about applying because it really did clear up a lot of questions I had regarding the program.  Here's the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_jXmkcYWII.  The video is from 2013 so some things may have changed a little, but the basic concept of the program is well-explained!

 

Immediately after watching that video, I really started to think that the Disney College Program was something that I really wanted to try to do.  I ran to tell my mom and dad and they were excited about it and said to go for it.  My mom had been telling me to research the program for a while before, but I just never really had the time until then.  So during my entire winter break, I continued to watch vlogs on YouTube and that's what inspired me to want to create my own blogs whenever I apply. 

 

The next step to my DCP STORY was trying to find a semester to take off of school in order to participate in the program.  I'm a nursing major and my goal was to start nursing school the fall of my junior year which would be the Fall of 2015.  I thought it would be kind of hard to take a semester off during nursing school, so I thought the best time for me to do the program was before I started nursing school.  The only way to do that though was to try and get ahead in some of my pre-requisite classes so that I wouldn't be behind for nursing school.  I took two courses during the summer after my freshman year - so this past summer - and I am currently in the first semester of my sophomore year.  After this semester, I will have completed all of my perquisite classes and I have to apply to nursing school by February 1, 2015, so if everything works out, I will not be behind and will be able to start nursing school as soon as I get back from Disney if I get accepted for Spring Advantage 2015.

 

Sorry this was such a long post, but I enjoy hearing others DCP stories and I thought mine might help all of you out if you had any trouble trying to choose when to apply for. 

 

Last but not least, I have so many reasons for wanting to do this program.  I've never participated in any type of internship opportunity before, and I really think that this will be a great opportunity to do something different with my life.  I'm hoping that by participating in this program, I will be able to really improve on my working abilities by learning from professionals and by networking with others.  As a guest at Disney World, I know what it feels like to share some of life's greatest memories in the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH, but it would be such a great experience for me to be able to share my memories as a guest while being a cast member.  I am looking forward to participating in the college program because of the amazing learning environment that is available to college students.  I love interacting with others, I love to smile, and I'm always happy.  Working for Disney will really enhance my resume when it comes to finding jobs after college.  I'm so so excited to share this amazing opportunity with all of you and I will talk to you all very soon!

~ Krista Lauren Girod