Disney Dolphins & Dreams

Follow me on my journey through my post-grad life and learn a little bit about what it's like to walk through a Marine Biologist's waters.

[disneydolphinsanddreams]

Acceptance!

After a little over two (very long) months, I am so excited to say that I have officially accepted an offer for my number one PI, Marine Mammals! Here’s a little peek at my acceptance email:

I may or may not have cried like a baby when I got the call (I definitely did). I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am at this opportunity. This is literally my dream and I can’t wait to begin my post-graduate career with Walt Disney World. 

I’ll check back in January and update everyone on how the big move to Orlando and training is going! Until then, thank you for your support! 

[disneydolphinsanddreams]

Waiting, Waiting

So today two of my positions (my top two!!) changed from “In Consideration” to “Interview” and although I’ve already finished my interviews for these this is typically a good sign! Most people who this happens to say that with in a few days either an email to set up a phone call or a random phone call with means an offer is in the future!

Someone also told me that Disney typically wouldn’t waste their time changing my status if they’re just going to NLIC me so pray that this email comes y’all!

Until then!

[disneydolphinsanddreams]

Application Process Update!

BlueJean’s done, now it’s waiting time. I have finally finished three BlueJean video interviews and I’m feeling a lot of emotions right now. I’m excited and nervous as I wait to hear back from the recruiters. My first BlueJean’s, for Conservation Education Presenter went alright. I felt good about it, but after I finished my second BlueJean’s for Marine Conservation, I’m not sure. I'm grateful that my third choice was my first interview though, because it set me up for my next two. 

The Marine Conservation (my second choice) BlueJean’s was awesome. They asked very similar questions to the Conservation Education Presenter so I was well prepared. The woman who interviewed me and I even had a mutual acquaintance! 

And finally, Marine Mammals. I was so incredibly nervous about this interview because it’s my first choice. Of course when the interviewer video called me she could not hear me, so she had to call me on the phone as well. Overall, I think that the interview went well too.

My best interview was by far Marine Conservation, but I am still waiting to hear back from any of them. It’s been a little over a week since my last BlueJean’s and people are starting to get offers left and right. I’m praying that I’ll get mine soon. 

Until then!

[disneydolphinsanddreams]

BlueJeans Interviews!

I just wanted to check in, so much has been going on lately! Not only did I get a BlueJeans interview for Education Conservation presenter, but I also got a Phone Screen for the Marine Conservation Education internship! This makes three internships that I am “In Consideration” for.

I literally just hung up the phone with a recruiter for this phone screen, and it was the same girl who interviewed me for the Marine Mammals internship. This one was extremely short too, only 4 minutes, so I feel like that’s just her interview style. She’s to the point and only had 4 questions to ask me. I feel better about this one because she was so bubbly and seemed genuinely happy to speak with me again. So, fingers crossed! I’m hoping for the Marine Mammals internship above all, but this one is my second choice.

My BlueJeans (or skype) interview is this Sunday. I heard that there is typically two people (but it can be more) on the other end interviewing you, and from the Facebook group I get the feeling that they are wonderful. I’m excited for this one because I feel I do much better in a face to face setting as opposed to over the phone. 

On a non-Disney related note, I started a new job at a Nature Center as a Parks Aid, and shortly after that I was offered a Zookeeper position elsewhere! This month has been really good for me career wise, so hopefully that luck stays intact and transfers over to when offers start coming out for the Disney Internships! 

As always, wish me luck! And if you’re going through this Disney application and interview process too, you got this!

[disneydolphinsanddreams]

The Interviews

So I finally had my phone screen/interviews yesterday (apparently they’re different things). If it is an interview you will get an email directly from a recruiter, and if it’s a phone screen (pre-interview) you will get an email to set up a time through your dashboard. 

For the Marine Mammals Internship, I got a personal email form a recruiter, which is a good thing! Except that the interview didn’t really go well. I was supposed to get the call at 3:15, and they can call you up to 15 minutes before/after. So, I was prepping for an hour before, just waiting to receive the call. Instead, I got an email for the recruiter at 3:18 saying she had tried to call me twice and reached my voicemail. Except my phone didn’t ring at all and it wasn’t on do not disturb. I had no missed calls or voicemails, so I was freaking out. She asked to reschedule but I kindly asked her to try calling me again, to which she replied that she couldn’t at the moment and what time would be good for Monday afternoon. Then, at 3:25 I got a phone call from an unknown number (that’s normal for phone screens/interviews). It was my recruiter, and she asked if it was still a good time to talk and informed me that she only had ten minutes. She asked me about 5 questions, including “What is your GPA?” I feel like I spoke well when answering her questions and gave her information about myself that was relevant to the position, but overall I’m not so sure the interview went great. Our conversation only lasted for 6 minutes and it wasn’t at all what I was expecting or preparing for. 

On the other hand, my phone screen for Education Conservation Presenter went well. My phone rang on time and my recruiter (different than who interviews me earlier) seemed much more into it. She was referencing things from my resume like my school name and majors (I’m double majoring). This made me feel much more comfortable than the interview I had had earlier. In this one I was asked many more questions, involving situational and experience based questions. I answered promptly and confidently as I had been preparing for a few days.

In both interviews the recruiters explained the timeline of the application process. Basically, they’re doing first rounds of interviews now. Once these are done the recruiters give potential candidates applications/notes to a board or leaders who will then deem you worthy (or not) of a video interview. This takes about a month and a half so all applicants aren’t expected to hear anything until mid October. So this waiting game should be fun. 

If they decide not to go forward with your application, then on your dashboard you status of “In Consideration” with change to “No Longer In Consideration.” So, I suppose no movement is good movement in this case. 

[disneydolphinsanddreams]

Phone Screen!

Today has been such an exciting day! This morning I got an email from a recruiter to schedule a phone screen for the Marine Mammal Internship for next week, September 5th (I may or may not have cried a few happy tears). Later on in the afternoon I received another email (and a text message!), this time from Disney, to schedule a phone screen for the Conservation Education Presenter Internship. I scheduled them both for the same day, so they may or may not happen on the same phone call. 

If you’re wondering what a typical phone screen email/text looks like:

You see that, I’m a “strong candidate” 😉

In all serious though, I'm almost positive that they write that in everyone’s email. This particular internship has a lot of competition based off of the Google Doc connected to the Facebook group I am a part of. If you don’t know what I'm talking about, see my previous post!

As far as the Marine Mammal Internship goes, I am the only one who applied according to the Google Doc, so hopefully my chances for that one are a bit higher. After all, it is the internship that I would do anything for, I want this one the most.

That being said, I’ve been practicing for the interviews based off question ideas I found online (yes, even before I knew that I was a strong candidate). I’m confident in my self and know that I have all the qualifications they are looking for, especially for Marine Mammals. So I’ll continue to prepare through out the week and do some mock calls to make sure I’m really ready. Wish me luck guys!

[disneydolphinsanddreams]

Good Support

I am a part of an amazing Facebook "support” group for everyone who has been applying for Professional Internships for the Spring of 2019. If you’re in this boat, or are just curious as to what the process is like, you can join by clicking here! This group has helped me immensely with my questions and maintaining my sanity through this process. 

Another saving grace has been Kyria’s Kingdom YouTube channel. She is amazing and has a video on everything and anything you need to know about DCP and PI’s. You can visit her page here (trust me she has all the answers).

Another cool thing about the Facebook group is that there is a spread sheet where everyone puts their name under the internship they applied for with the date they applied, their status, and the date they have interviews for. This is a good way to tell if there is movement in the program department you applied for. 

Both of my applications that are in consideration are part of the Animal Program, and thanks to this spreadsheet I can tell that there is movement. Going off what others who applied before I did, I can see that it takes about 7-10 days to get a phone screen. I’m only a few days in, so until then pray for me ya’ll!

As for the Miami Seaquarium one, I just received an email that my application is under review and I can expect to hear back on December 1st.. All of this waiting is going to drive me insane!

[disneydolphinsanddreams]

Introduction Post

I figured it’s only appropriate to make an introductory post. My name is Nicole and I am a senior about to graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Biology come December! I have lived in Florida my whole life, so naturally I am obsessed with the beach. So much so that I have decided to dedicate my entire career to conserving it, the ocean, and all our marine friends who live there. I have a soft spot in my heart for marine mammals, especially Cetaceans (whales and dolphins) and am working towards a goal of becoming a trainer.

I have been lucky enough to have some amazing experiences including sailing to Cuba on a “pirate ship” and tagging sharks for a research and conservation project! Here I am doing a training session during a Introduction to Marine Mammal Medicine course I completed at Island Dolphin Care in Key Largo, FL over spring break. I have to say this was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. This course was a taste of what the future looks like for me, and I can’t wait until I can take the next step.

Speaking of, I just applied to an internship at Miami Seaquarium and two Disney Professional Internships! For the Disney PI’s I sent my applications in for both the Marine Mammal Internship and also the Conservation Education Presenter Internship. But, if I'm being completely honest I would do anything for the Marine Mammal’s one.

I applied on August 25th and 26th and both of my applications automatically went to “Under Review.” Today (the 27th) they both changed to “In Consideration” so I have a good feeling that a phone screen/interview is coming up! It has only been a few days, but the waiting is absolutely the worst part of it. I want this internship so bad, so being in the dark about what is going on is driving me crazy! If you have applied for a PI, or are currently applying for one, you understand!