Lauren Jumonville, a student at ETSU, will be participating in the Disney College Program at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida from January to June.

Jumonville will move to Florida at the beginning of January and stay until June.

She will be working in Hollywood Studios at the Galaxy’s Edge ride as an operations coordinator. This will be a paid internship, with housing provided on the Walt Disney World property She will continue working on her degree at ETSU with online classes while continuing with the program.

“It’s been really amazing how ETSU has worked with me to get me my dream job,” stated Jumonville.

The Disney College Program only accepts about 12,000 students per year and about 6,000 per semester.

Jumonville started the program in 2017. She left for personal reasons; however, she is excited to return.

“I was very sad to have to leave, but in that moment, I knew my time there was not finished, and I would be back,” said Jumonville.

For the application process, the Disney College Program states that the applicant must be 18 years old, currently enrolled or graduated from a university program within 24 months of the application and authorized to work in the U.S., which is stated on the Disney career website, but to Jumonville, the process was easier the second time around.

Jumonville did not know what type of room she would be staying in or who her roommates would be until seven days before she had to move. She states that it was very difficult packing and preparing for the move last minute.

However, the biggest concern for her is the sudden changes.

“I think the scariest part of it all, of course, is leaving behind the life I have right now with my fiancé, for a whole new world,” Jumonville stated.

Although it has been a difficult and frightening process, Jumonville is overall excited for this journey, especially because it is what she wishes to do for a career. She states she is excited to meet new people and network in Disney.

“I am also excited about getting back into a company that I love and respect so dearly. It’s going to be nice to be able to network and keep one foot in the door of a very prestigious company,” said Jumonville.

Jumonville hopes that she will stick with Disney as her career for the rest of her life. She is using this program as a stepping stone in the world of Disney to build up the company. She plans to either stay in Florida at Walt Disney World or go to Disneyland Paris in France.

“I intend to use this internship as a way to network and make connections that will allow me to continue in the company even after I graduate,” stated Jumonville.