The summer is almost over, and school is about to begin. For many EMU students, part-time jobs, flings, and parents will soon be a fond (or maybe not-so-fond) memory. There is the trite saying memories will last a lifetime. Maybe that’s because what is remembered has changed one’s life.
Everything changed this summer for EMU graduate Laura Whitbeck when she became a finalist for the 2010 Walt Disney Imagineering’s ImagiNation competition. As a finalist, she was invited to compete for first place at Disney’s Imagination Studios in Southern California. This is where she landed her 10 – month internship with Disney Worldwide Safety and Accessibility in Florida.
“The experience was very intense and stressful, although amazing,” Whitbeck said. “They told us to always have resumes and a portfolio with us since we could be interviewed at any time. Twice I had less than an hour’s notice for some very important interview opportunities. The whole group of finalists was always … on their toes.”
Due to the trip she took this summer, not only does she get an internship, Whitbeck is living in subsidized housing with free bi-monthly housekeeping. She also gets the ‘Disney Difference’, which includes free admission to all the theme parks, big discounts on hotel stays and use of a Disney cast retreat.
After graduating this April in graphic design with a German minor, she is already applying what she learned at EMU to her internship. Within her first week, she was using her art experience to conduct photo shoots and design posters for safety rules. Even Whitbeck’s German minor was not a waste, since she also designed multilingual signs.
For her second week at the internship, Whitbeck will be using her art experience to film a safety video. This is far from the coffee-fetching grunt work people fear interns do. On her free time, she goes to the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios in Disney World. Her next stop will be the Animal Kingdom.
This internship is only the cherry that capped off a life changing summer for Whitbeck. When Whitbeck landed in California for the competition, she got picked up in a limousine and Disney covered all the food and travel expenses. She spent the next ten days learning how Disney operated from a creative and technical standpoint.
“The most influential seminar I had was a two hour lecture and discussion session with Joe Rhode, lead designer of Animal Kingdom, who … spoke about how details work to fully create a storyline in the design of the parks,” Whitbeck said. “Creating an unexpectedly good product is far more interesting and engaging than always giving the public exactly what it wants.”
Part of being a finalist meant presenting her design to a panel of 25 judges and being broadcasted internationally to all of the Imagineering headquarters around the world. Her design of a Seascape resort, which borrows elements from “The Little Mermaid” and “Finding Nemo,” tied for third place with a team from Virginia Tech, that designed a futuristic museum based on the movie “Wall-E.” The competition was fierce with 170 teams from 19 countries.
“My teammate [Allie from Columbia College in Chicago] and I tried to keep the presentation lively by using humor,” Whitbeck said. “We were especially proud of our ‘Wallaby Way’ model, which was based on the film ‘Finding Nemo.’ It contained an erupting volcano and interactive fish that could speak in several languages.”
She applied for the Disney College Program after seeing it advertised on EMU’s campus. She was hired as a tour guide in 2008, which is the job she was doing when she found out about the ImagiNation competition and met her teammate. Now, she might return as a spotlight speaker for the Disney College Program. Whitbeck’s journey with Disney is coming full circle.
“My most influential mentor from the Disney College Program was Tricia Garwood, who instructed my ‘Creativity and Innovation’ class,” Whitbeck said. “I had used the principles of her class in developing my ideas. Now I will have the chance to share my adventure with other students who are interested in the competition.”
