By Brittany Savage
Students interested in bringing the magic of Walt Disney World into their summer internships can attend a presentation Thursday, March 20, for interviews and more details.
'The meeting on Thursday at 7 p.m. in room 3290 of the Wilk is mandatory for anyone interested in interviewing for regular internships or for interviewing with the Entertainment Department for characters,' said Stephen Clayson, Walt Disney World College Program campus representative for BYU.
The professional recruiter from Orlando, Stacey Krett, will give the presentation this evening. She has been the official recruiter at BYU for three years, Clayson said.
Interviews for Disney internships will start on Friday, after the meeting. Students can also interview for character positions.
'Only seven schools are chosen for entertainment auditions, and every school in Utah was sent information on this as well as any school within a five-hour radius,' Clayson said.
BYU was fortunate to be chosen for character positions this year. Disney recruits from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, he said.
'BYU was chosen because of its dance department''s reputation and the success of past College Program Presentations,' Clayson said.
The character auditions and other internships are part of the same college program.
'The only difference between the two is that with entertainment, their role will be to play a character - or as we like to refer to it - be a special friend to the character,' Clayson said. 'We don''t want to ruin the magic for any true believers out there.'
Two weeks after students interview on Friday, they will receive a letter informing them of their position if they are hired, Clayson said. There is an audition Friday night for those who pass the entertainment interview. The audition will be held in Room 29 of the Knight Magnum Building.
'I don''t know what the interview will entail, but I do know that Entertainment asked for a dance studio with mirrors, a hard wood floor and a CD player,' Clayson said. 'Should students not be accepted for a character role, the interview is structured such to allow them to be considered for a role with the regular internships, so they''ll have that to fall back on if they still want to do the College Program.'
Clayson had nothing but good things to say about the Disney internships. He worked as a Disney intern in Fall 2001 and came back to work as a Disney recruiter. He plans to return to the magical world of Disney when he graduates in December.
Students must attend the Thursday meeting in order to be eligible for Friday interviews. Students will receive an invitation from recruiters to present at the interviews.