Hello there my fellow adventurer!
Hello from the corporate offices of The Walt Disney Company located out in Glendale/Burbank, California!
Alright now ladies and gentlemen, here comes the million dollar question of the century, are you ready?! How many of you know what 'Adventures by Disney' is.... Anyone... Anyone?? Come on now don't cheat, don't click on the link above just yet,
If you answered the following you would be correct - Adventures by Disney is a family/group travel tourism operator, created by The Walt Disney Company!
No, I'm sorry to disappoint you my fellow friend but there is no Disneyland is England, Australia, Peru or even Switzerland, rather, when you travel with Adventures by Disney you are visiting a specific country, embarking on culture emerging excursions, partaking in the listening of engaging historical commentary, becoming one with the locals as you participate in hands-on activities (such as one of a kind cooking classes), and so much more!
I could go on an on about how great Adventures by Disney is for a lifetime, not just because I previously worked for them as a professional intern, but because through AbD like myself, so many of you can get the chance to see the world.
Now of course the part you have all been waiting for - 'Meghan, what did your internship in Trip Development entail? Did you get to travel the world while on the job? How did it feel to be essentially making magic, creating itineraries I assume people will travel on that you helped develop?' - All great questions my fellow traveler, to answer your first question, here is the little blurb that came with my jobs description...
"Participant in the development and operation of the Adventures by Disney business including the development of new itineraries and products, the operation of current itineraries, marketing and sales efforts and team projects".
But WAIT, there's MORE! Not only was I the Adventures by Disney Trip Development intern (from June 12th, 2018 - January 4th, 2019), BUT during my time at Disney I also became Professional Intern Rep! Along with that new fancy title I got to represent what it meant to be an intern to all the other interns at Disney by doing small projects outside of work such as, "Hosting Weekly Intern Lunches, Attending/Assisting as Needed at Intern Events, Help Brainstorm New Ideas for the Program, Act as a Liaison Between Interns & Campus Events Rep, Be Active on Intern Social Groups and Participate in Bi-Weekly Check-In Meetings" - WOW are you exhausted yet, because I am just writing it, haha!
I guess you could say for months I was really hustling... but in the end it was all worth it because I love traveling and connecting with others so much! Any opportunity for me to keep my foot in the door and use my passions to be creative, I'm gonna go for it, and without a doubt working for Adventures by Disney allowed me to do just that.
All in all, I learned just as much about myself as I did about trip operations during my time at Disney. For me, all of 2018 felt like I was studying abroad, as for all of you who frequently follow me, you know that I was attending the University of Edinburgh in Scotland from January 10th to May 28th, 2018... with less than two week to move myself across the country, I moved from my home state of Connecticut, took off my fall semester of college in Florida and quite literally extended my study abroad journey over to California to begin a once in a lifetime experience. Now just between you and I my fellow adventuring friend, here is a list of the top 10 things I learned about myself and the corporate world of America that I will forever be thankful for experiencing...
1) COFFEE is your absolute best friend - (it's like a warm hug in a cup) there to remind you that each morning is gonna be okay!
2) NETWORKING is everything! Now don't get me wrong, if you don't have the necessary skills to backup your job then that's something networking can't fix, BUT just being in the right place at the right time, putting yourself out there and making connections is perhaps the best way I've found to learn about other people's industries and get fantastic advice!
3) Within reason, LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN while being an intern outside of just your department. For example, even though I was the Trip Development intern, I asked to be but on various other project involving Trip Services and AbD Marketing, as it is my personal belief that the more skills you know, the more valuable you are to any one company!
4) VOLUNTEER or should I say, VoluntEAR (the way Disney spells it, so cute right)! Perhaps one of my favorite things about my time at Disney was the amount of volunteering events I attended (both at work and on my personal time during the weekend)... it helped me feel connected to the community, make a lot of really great friends (hello, networking), and overall, feel a sense of accomplishment (and who doesn't love that)!
5) HAVE FUN - to decompress, after you leave work everyday try and do something that makes you feel silly, relaxed or perhaps even try a new restaurant for dinner, just because! And if you're lucky to have the world best roommate ever (turned life-time friend, like I did), then take advantage of the fact that you can carpool going places (ex. Harry Potter World, Disneyland, Target runs...) the opportunities are endless!
6) Get CREATIVE in finding new ways to decorate your DESK SPACE (see a photo of my actual Disney desk below)! During my time at Disney I started collecting little Tsum Tsums (or as one of my co-workers liked to call them, Adult Beanie Babies), but hey, if I like them then that's all that matters! I also printed out a series of photos from my time studying abroad and pinned them all over my desk walls - who wants to stare at 4 white walls all day when you can make the space your own little bubble of happiness, now's the time to let your inner interior designer shine!
7) I learned how to BE A LEADER and likewise take direction, how exciting taking responsibility for my part in a project or presentation can be and how to look up to others whose work I admired... as a wise person once told me there is always going to be someone who knows more than you, so you best learn from them!
8) In the GREAT WORDS of the late MARVEL creator Stan Lee, "If you are interested in what you do, that keeps you going"!
9) Not everyday is going to be a good day, but there is something good in every-day! Maybe you're excited because the cafe is making your favorite meal today or you've made lunch plans to get Starbucks with your favorite co-worker ;) ... did I mention I like coffee!
10) YOU DO NOT, and let me repeat, YOU DO NOT have to do what your college major/degree title says, YOU CAN BE & DO ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BE IN LIFE as long as you have a passion for it! That doesn't mean you degree is worthless, in fact, I am more grateful than ever for having chosen to study what I did in college because without exploring that path I would have lived the rest of my life wondering "what-if" I had... it left me with an in depth knowledge of humanity, political, creative and worldly skills that I know I will be able to confidently translate into any job wherever I go.
So there you have it my fellow traveling friend, 10 things I learned about myself and the corporate world of America during my Adventures by Disney Internship!
Now go out & explore, try new things and do good in the world :)
(UPDATE): since the completion of my internship, due to the nature of the Walt Disney Company's privacy I am not allowed to discuss any confidential information, or talk about projects until they are released. HOWEVER, one of the projects I got to work has since been released for sale! The Adventures by Disney, Rhone River Cruise (for those of you who don't know, the Rhone River is located in the south of France, sailing from Lyon to Arles on a beautiful AmaCello luxury ship). Now before you ask my fellow friend, no I did not get to travel to the south of France during my time in CA, so you have to promise me, if you go on this river cruise you have to tell me all about it! Who knows, maybe i'll see you there one day!
Until Next Time my fellow adventurer!
Cheers,
Lady Meghan Chayka
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