UP!

I couldn't help not starting a blog about the possible opportunity that awaits Noah & I this coming Fall. I am an alumni of the Walt Disney World College Program. I did my program for the 2002 Fall Advantage term. Merchantainment was my calling at the wildest place on property, Disney's Animal Kingdom. I was so young & naive but I had my eyes wide open to whatever experiences came my way. It was one of the most memorable times in my life & I loved every moment. At the time I never knew that it was possible to fall so in love with a place, let alone a company.
Not too long ago I had an awakening... a realization, I really was In L-O-V-E with this place. This love I feel overwhelms me at times, especially when I hear the music from Illuminations:Reflections of Earth ,my eyes turn into wells & warmth radiates outward from my heart. I stop & tell myself, "Brittany you must be insane."
Oh well :) I'm not the only one & even if I were, that be fine by me.

So much life has happened since my program... I've come so far and I would definitely consider myself a "grown-up" now, unlike during my program, I thought I knew it all, even when I knew I didn't, but I was "grown-up" enough to do what I wanted. Now, I'm a single Mother & I've been blessed with the brightest 2 year old I've ever known. He truly is a joy in my life that is unlike any other. For many reasons I stopped myself from considering doing another College Program. I kept the option off my plate especially since I had my son Noah. I am the Campus Representative for the Disney College Program on my campus. I always wanted to keep my foot in the Disney Door, but how or when I was going to do to take the step over that threshold, I haven't got a clue.

So I have had my nose to the ground in my school work, trying to do all that I can to get accepted into the Upper-Division (UD) of my Nursing School. I had my mind set that this Fall was my time to move up in the world, to finally reap some of the rewards from this unending game I've been playing with Higher Education. True to form in this game, I have one class left to take this summer before I can be admitted to the UD & start my clinical's. Chemistry. Chemistry. Chemistry. Chemistry. Chemistry. Chemistry. Why so much Chemistry you ask? well, first let me start by saying, I'm not a Quitter. I've got my mind set on a Bachelor degree of my very own. All that Chemistry is probably close to the number of times I have personally taken that course... Over & over & over again. It's my Achilles Heel. If I were a super-hero you could use a Redox reaction on me, then attack using Moles as fire power an Scream Avogadro's sufferble number to me over & over & over again, in the end leaving my brain as liquified goop!

Moving right along, so I've got this course I need to complete before I'm able to begin my clinicals & all the other hard core nursing stuff they want to throw at me. At the moment I'm on the alternate list aka waiting list. 150 students were accepted into the UD, now I'm waiting to see if the usual dozen folks don't take their spot. All this to leave me wondering what number I am on that alternate list. Argh!

Needless to say I've been left with the possibility of my Fall semester being empty. No I mean really empty, with no other pre-req's left to take... I can't throw money away and take a load of classes that Do Not apply to my major what-so-ever. I've done that enough already & thus leaving my current term coming to it's final stretch & I having been left wondering what to do with an undetermined fall semester lurking about...
Then it hit me sometime at the end of March when I was preparing my tri-fold DCP display for an info table on campus. "I do all this work on campus talking about the program, hanging up posters, handing out cards, & talking to students who are ready to go down and work for Disney... Why don't I just go do it again?"

And then these possibilities started flooding my thoughts... "I can do this, I can do a program, it would be a completely different experience, but I can do it!"

So as I finally decide to make this opportunity & actual possibility, I started this new version of the same ride I went on 8 years ago...
Go to a Presentation, well an E-presentation for me this time. Got to watch Tara on my computer going gaga over the College Program. Started my online application. Finished it & found out I was a strong candidate. (Lol I sure hope I would be if I'm already a Campus Rep ;) I Did all of this on a Friday Night after Noah was in bed. Now, my next step was scheduling my phone interview & naturally assuming that their offices would be closed over the weekend I made my call first thing on Monday. I think I got pretty lucky cause they had a time open the very next day in the afternoon! So I snatched the spot. On the morrow I stared at my phone & jumped when it rang as if it had just started up a conversation with me :P

I was a little nervous & a bit anxious to see if I would still make the cut... Melissia was my Recruiter who did the interview, she was easy to talk to & I enjoyed talking to her. I love feeling that feeling I get when I'm able to talk about what makes Disney so special to me & why I love it. Sooo,the interview is over. Now it's time to wait... wait... wait... 1 week goes by... wait... wait... wait... 2 weeks go by... and I'm still here waiting. lol. It's been about 2 weeks & 5 days & I know that my email message I received after my interview said it would be 3 to 4 weeks, but I was hoping that I'd get lucky and find out exactly at the 2 week mark like I did with my first College Program. Except back in the day we never got an email telling us first then this infamous "purple folder." So of course, I've been obsessively stalking my email. Which is being neither fun nor very helpful to me. Perhaps if I sweet talk her & tell her I'd do everything in my power to rid her of regular emails full of coupons & marketing... maybe then she just might surprise me with a message from Walt Disney Recruiting, that's not my normal Campus Rep material Lol ;)

Now I wait & map out how I can make it happen, When ;) I get accepted...

Luckily I also have the Cast Portal aka the Hub to keep me informed & preoccupied as time slugs on...
Found some very helpful information on the Hub that helped me know that this is a rock solid possibility because I know that my son Noah's experience at the super duper uber amazing Central Florida YMCA Family Care Center would be just as beneficial & fulfilling as my experience on the program. These are the daycare facilities that are get this... On Disney Property, & there are 2 centers! Not only that, Disney has a scholarship program for their cast members based on what their hourly pay is... so I would pay about $2.50 to $7.60 a day. That's right people A DAY! Insane & Amazing I know... But Wait There's More! Their hours of operation go til 11pm ^_^ ahhh!!! I know many of you have no inkling as to why that's so awesome! And no worries, If you're not solely responsible for the well-being of a child you don't need to know why it is... Just know that IT IS! & whenever you have babies & are living your dream down at Disney know that there are these magical super fantastico facilities very close to where ever you work & trust that they put just as much care & planning in their daily activities & their facilities as they do when they Imagineer something new! And I have no doubt they expect just as much excellence from the workers there as they do their own cast members.
Needless to say what a relief that is for me... & it makes my eyes open UP and realize that this may just take Noah & myself on this dream ride we never expected!

I'll make a close for now... at least until I receive notification from the Mouse letting me know where I stand in the cheese of things... And from there it will be my possible heart-breaking decision to either accept or reject a possible offer to the Upper-division of Nursing, or the Disney College Program.

My Adventure is Out There & this is my first real step UP to my Dreams.