My Disney Experience: How Purdue Helped me Achieve my Dream

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My Disney Experience
How Purdue Helped me Achieve my Dream

                I have always been fascinated with Walt Disney World, the most magical place on Earth. What makes it so magical? In high school, I met a family friend who worked in the Industrial Engineering Department at Walt Disney World. At the time, I was not familiar with Industrial Engineering and had yet to decide what I would be studying in college. My family friend explained to me the role that the Industrial Engineering Department plays at Disney: improving the process flow and efficiency of the parks, resorts, transportation, merchandise stores, and everything else that encompasses the large place that is Walt Disney World. She explained to me a common project the IE Department would work on. This project was regarding a ride at one of the parks. What if the wait time had become on average 20 minutes longer over the course of 6 months? What was causing this increase? The IE department would go out and collect data at the attraction, timing dispatch intervals, making observations about how many Cast Members are working, etc. The IEs would then analyze that data and come up with a solution. For example, what would be more beneficial, adding another Cast Member to work the ride and help guests get off and on more quickly? Or adding another car to the ride that would allow more guests through at one time? These types of projects fascinated me. The idea of studying a process or a heavy traffic flow area and devising a way to make it more efficient sounded like something I would very much enjoy doing.  

                After learning about Disney and the Industrial Engineering Department there, I decided that
I wanted to attend Purdue University and study Industrial Engineering. During my first year engineering class, representatives from the engineering disciplines came in to talk to us about each discipline. When Doc B from Industrial Engineering gave the IE presentation, he mentioned Walt Disney World and the fact that many IEs at Purdue have had the opportunity to intern there. I reached out to Doc B and received the contacts of a few upperclassmen who had interned in the IE Department at Disney. They had nothing but phenomenal things to say about the internship and the company. It quickly became my goal to intern there during my time at Purdue. These upperclassmen gave me the contacts of the recruiters at Disney, and I reached out to express my interest. Eventually, I received an interview and then got an offer to intern during the Fall of 2016. Purdue gave me the opportunity to achieve my dream. Interning at the IE department at Disney was an exceptional experience. I was given the opportunity to work independently on projects, explore the areas of IE that interest me, and push myself out of my comfort zone. I now know that I am definitely in the right major. I encourage everyone to go after their dream job. The resources and networking opportunities available here at Purdue are endless. Purdue Engineering sets you up for a great career, just work hard to get where you want to go.
Me with 5 other interns by our desks in the office! Christina (next to me) also goes to Purdue, Boiler Up!
What's YOUR dream? Drop us a note in the comments or tag us on social media @PurdueWIEP.  
 
-Abby Trusler
WE Link Leadership Team
Stay Connected with Purdue WIEP!
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Instagram: @PurdueWIEP
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