I’m coming to you today, blog friends, to share the specific details of the Disney College Program aka the adventure I’m about to embark on.

The Disney College Program is essentially an internship with the Walt Disney Company. As a part of the College Program a student can work at Walt Disney World in Florida or Disneyland in California. I chose to apply to work at Disney World because it’s AWESOME. Besides the obvious benefits of having an internship with Disney, a large draw for the program is that students are paid. It’s not much, I’ll grant you, but the do meet and often exceed Florida’s minimum wage. Which is more than can be said for many internships with large companies.

To be a part of the Disney College Program, you have to currently be enrolled in college. This means that students who are about to graduate are eligible for the program. Which is pretty nifty.

For specific details about the program that I won’t get into here, visit the WDW College Program site. I will say that if you’re currently a college student and looking for an interesting internship experience to take part in, either when you’re in school or when you graduate, check it out.

I’ll be arriving at Disney on August 18th to begin my Disney College Program experience. The role I was offered and accepted was Photopass Photographer. I’ll find out which park I’ll be working in when I arrive at Disney.

Lucky for me, Disney houses all the CP participants and allows you to choose your roommate (as long as they have the same arrival date as you). My roommate is fellow Bellarmine grad and Bellarmine Radio compatriot Whitney Cecil!

If you have other questions about the program please feel free to leave me a comment. Or if you’d like to follow me on my program journey, here’s the link to my blog www.natfishwdwcp.wordpress.com.

I’m incredibly excited to get started! I’ll be at Disney until January 7th, at which point I’ll hopefully be even MORE employable.

Let me know if you’ll be at Disney so I can take your picture!

It’s been 10 days since Bellarmine’s 2010 Commencement Ceremony (casually known as graduation) and I must say, that was quite a day. It was a whirlwind of activity and hugging and picture taking and standing in line. Oh! the standing in line.

Overall, it was in incredible experience. Walking across the stage was, to be honest, weird. I told myself to pay close attention and remember everything (and to not fall), but by the time I got up there it was like a fishbowl was over my head and President McGowan sounded all warbley. Apparently most of my fellow grads felt just about the same way.

Anyway, since then I’ve been at my home putting off unpacking all of my things from Bellarmine. I’m sure once that gets done it’ll be time for me to leave again. As I said in an earlier post, I’m leaving for Orlando, FL in mid-August to work at Walt Disney World for a few months. (I’ll talk about that in depth in my next post.)

I’ll be around in the coming months with a post here and there.

Congratulations to my fellow 2010 graduates, and good luck!

I’m writing to you from my practically bare dorm on the eve of graduation day. This whole week has been a whirlwind of activity and fun that I’ve barely had a moment to even think about my impending walk across the stage. But here I am, dwelling on what tomorrow means, and it feels very strange.

It feels like nerves, dread, happiness, excitement, sadness and fear all rolled into one emotion. My stomach really hates me right now.

I mentioned how fun this past week has been, so let me tell you a bit about it.

Senior Week, as it is called, has been wonderful. I’ve gotten to spend time with many of my fellow seniors, and we’ve all really enjoyed each others company. Lunch at the President’s House was a nice, relaxing way to spend a few hours in the sun. Yesterday we all went to Churchill Downs and lost a bit of money (maybe that was just me), and then made our way to see a Bats game downtown. Tonight we spend our last evening as a class at one of Bellarmine’s favorite hangouts, Shenanigans.

And then…it will be tomorrow. Tomorrow we all don our gowns and caps and march ourselves all over campus. I’ll be shaking in my (stylish yet affordable) heels all the way until I get my diploma.

Then I don’t know how I’ll feel. Relieved? Ecstatic? Sad? I’m not sure. I’ll have to tell you when I find out.

I’d like to share with you some of my favorite memories of my college career:

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

And that’s all!

It looks like I had fun, right? Yeah, I think so too.

Tomorrow, Friday, is my first final and it’s in Eastern Orthodox Theology. It will probably be my toughest final. Therefore, I’m taking full advantage of today’s study day and hanging out in the library’s Mac Lab with a few friends and studying my face off.

Since I’m doing that, I’m keeping this post short. Come back tomorrow (or later tonight) though, because I’m planning an extra-special nostalgia post.

Buh-bye, and wish me luck tomorrow!

“I love deadlines. I love the sound they make as they go whooshing past.” –Douglas Adams.

So, several projects and 35 total pages of papers later, here I am! I come bearing the stress that comes with the calm before the finals storm.

But this is it, guys. The final countdown. I have a couple real days of class left and then it’s finals.

And then….Senior Week.

The most beautiful combination of words to ever be uttered by the tired mouths of soon-to-be graduates.

Senior Week, for those who aren’t aware, goes from May 3rd to May 7th. Seniors get to enjoy a variety of activities just for them leading up until graduation.

Such activities include: a Senior dance, Picnic at the President’s House, Day at the Downs, Louisville Bats Game and a Shenanigan’s Happy Hour. We’re all very much looking forward to a week of simply hanging out with our classmates and not having to worry about anything but walking across a stage.

Graduation is held on May 8th and lasts a bulk of the day. Friends and family will join the graduates for a celebration of their accomplishments and then, when it’s all over, say a (most likely tearful) goodbye and begin the next step.

My fellow graduates and I could go in a variety of directions. Grad school, employment, travel…the world is our oyster…whatever that means.

My roommate and several other good friends have chosen the Graduate school route. I look forward to visiting all corners of the country, and plan to tease them about their choice to toil away over MORE schoolwork.

I have instead chosen the gainful employment route.

I am happy to announce that I have been accepted into the Walt Disney College Program for the months of August through January. This means I’ll be living and working at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida for about five months. Hooray! My official position will be Photopass Photographer, which means I get to hone my skill in the area of photography.

After Disney I plan to use the connections I’ve made there to further myself in the company or down similar avenues. My ultimate goal would be to work for Pixar…I guess we’ll see.

Bellarmine has given me a lot. My professors and peers have prepared me for the world outside and equipped me with the tools to survive it.

I can also walk a mean case of stairs in no time flat.

I’ll be back soon (I swear this time!) with details on finals week and how I feel about graduating.

It’s about to get scary.

Homecoming week is something of an oddity at Bellarmine. We celebrate it for our basketball team rather than football since, well…we don’t have a football team. But at BU we’re ok with being non-traditional once in a while. I don’t know how Homecoming’s are typically celebrated at other university’s, because I imagine they occur during the warmer months rather than in the middle of February. For us, Homecoming is a time to look forward to the big game and the Homecoming Dance. Everything else that occurs in between is just an added bonus.

I’m not what you would call a big attendee of events, but I contribute my fair share of school spirit. This year I had grandiose plans to attend each Homecoming event since it’s my last chance to do so. Sadly like all the best laid plans…mine failed. I didn’t make it to the game OR the Homecoming dance. Shame, shame, shame on me. BUT, I did make it to a couple things.

I’m always amazed at how many students come out of the woodwork for Homecoming. When you get to be a senior, you notice that the same group of people show up for events (at least at a school as small as Bellarmine) but when it comes time for Homecoming, an event recognizable as pretty important, all sorts of students attend. Which is nice. It gives one a sense of community.

And now that it’s over (we won the basketball game, by the way. GO KNIGHTS!) and Spring Break is well underway, I am reminded again of how little time I have until graduation. Yuck! Let’s keep those thoughts at bay a little longer.

I’ll be back soon to tell you all about my final Spring Break. It has been, yet again, non-traditional!

‘Till next time…

In the course of two weeks, Bellarmine has had three total snow days. I have a feeling this isn’t the last of them, either. I don’t think we’ll come anywhere close to the week and some odd days last year caused by the ice storm, though.

So, what do students do with all this time off? Not much, to be honest. The odd student here and there may actually study and get work done, some may take advantage of the beautiful snow and go sledding…but most stay holed up in their residence halls or homes and sleep for hours on end and watch re-runs of The Cosby Show. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. A break is nice, and sleep is certainly always needed.

But while the students are snoozing, they are losing days in the semester. How will they be made up? One can never tell.

My guess is that they may take away our study day, which really isn’t that bad.

But let’s get back to the matter at hand: SNOW.

I want it to go away and for it to be, like, 80 degrees so I can wear shorts and have a reason to blast The Beach Boys in my car.

Alas, no such luck. I just heard chatter in the office of more snow coming on Saturday. Ugh.

Stay warm, readers. Homecoming details on the way!

Yippee?

I’ve never understood the purpose of Groundhog Day. No matter if some furry creature sees his shadow or not, we’re still going to have several weeks of winter afterward. Winter already has me grumpy, I don’t need more fodder from a groundhog for me to grumble about.

Speaking of winter, Louisville has been relatively lucky thus far in the way of severe weather. This time last year we were still reeling from the ice storm and making up lost days of school.

What I wouldn’t give for a week off from school right now…gosh that would be nice.

But I digress. We’re all still trucking along and studying our faces off preparing for impending midterms. I feel like the semester just began yesterday, but I know midterms are just resting around the corner, waiting to attack me when I least expect it. Tricky midterms…

In other news, Valentine’s Day is coming up…

Again…yippee?

Luckily for us single ladies, there are plenty of Valentine’s goings on to keep us busy while happy couples frolic and make paper chains of a fat baby toting hunting equipment.

Do I sound bitter? Maybe a little. I’ll lighten up for the next paragraph or so.

Whether you’re in love or not on Valentine’s Day, Bellarmine Radio implores you to bid Silent Auction style on an hour of on-air programming (of your choosing!) with a V-Day theme. It can be for someone/thing you love, or it can be anti-love (just in general, they’re not accepting programming directed at your ex). They’ll be in the café during free period all this week taking bids.

I’m actually totally ok with Valentine’s Day, though I encourage folks to make their own presents (and make it thoughtful) instead of wasting money on whatever pink encrusted do-dad you can find at Walgreen’s. Also, there are some great stores on Bardstown Road where one can a) buy locally and b) find something unique for their Valentine. May I suggest a trip to The Makery? Handmade gifts at a handmade price, and you’re bound to find something to suit anyone’s taste!

Or you can do something fun together, like make a trip to Glassworks in downtown Louisville, or try some ethnic cuisine neither of you were brave enough to try on your own.

If you’re single, get all your single friends together and make a day of it. That’s what I would do if I didn’t already have plans to wear all black, sit in my room alone and listen to Jagged Little Pill on repeat for hours.

KIDDING!
I’m actually going to watch a professor of mine perform with his band in Indianapolis. Which I’m pretty pumped about.

Happy early Valentine’s Day to all my readers!

Check back very soon for an update on Homecoming Week (my last ever!).