Dreams come true as Brandeis seniors prepare for jobs at Disney World

Photo/Kelsey Segaloff '15

Peter Pan poses with Kelsey Segaloff '15

Having a castle on their grounds isn’t the only thing that both Disney World and Brandeis have in common.

Soon, a familiar group of Brandeis faces will be mainstays at one of the world’s iconic amusement parks. Seniors Kelsey Segaloff ’15, Ian Carroll ’15, Nicole Wittels ’15, Sarah Brodsky ‘15 and Danny Steinberg ’15 have all secured internships to work at Disney World in Orlando, Florida this summer. Segaloff is participating in a professional internship involving workforce planning, while the others are taking part in the Disney College Program.

The Disney College Program places interns at jobs in customer service, merchandising and attractions. The internships include a room near downtown Disney, a monetary stipend, continuous free entry into the park and some free tickets for friends and family.

For Segaloff and Brodsky, this chance is truly a dream come true.

“Sarah and I met on the Brandeis class of 2015 Facebook group before we got to school and we bonded over our mutual love of Disney to the point that we thought we might hate each other because we had too much in common” says Segaloff, who has a Disney-themed Tumblr account with over 19,000 followers.

“But it worked out okay,” adds Brodsky, who majored in Theater Arts and English. “We’ve known about this internship for a while. We used to talk about doing this together when we were freshman. The fact that we are now is incredible.”

Segaloff’s internship will be centered on applied social science research, while Brodsky will work as a concierge at one of the Disney resorts. Carroll and Steinberg, who have experience creating lighting and sound design for myriad Brandeis-produced plays, will work at a ride or an attraction. Wittels, a Mathematics major, will focus on merchandising. Each student has a general idea of what their job will be, though the specifics will be revealed the day they arrive in Orlando.

“It’s very broad, we’re working in attractions, but it could be anything,” says Steinberg. “We could be interacting with guests, working a ride or participating in a show. It’s very over-arching.”

Though Segaloff and Brodsky’s friendship formed before their first-year orientation, all five have become close friends. In fact, they’re all scouting out points around the park they can meet once their workdays end. It’s a sort of natural continuation of what the five have done at Brandeis, from decorating their rooms with Disney paraphernalia, to writing an honors thesis about the Disney princesses, to taking professor Caren Irr’s “The films of Disney” class. In a matter of months, they’ll all be able to bond over that and more while sitting under Disney’s nightly fireworks display and working with their favorite characters. Another component of the experience, however, is developing their careers.

“The program is whatever you want to make it,” says Brodsky. “Often, when you talk about staying, Disney discusses how the program can be a stepping-stone within the company. A lot of people in the company talk about how the college program inspires them to stay.”

 For now, the group, which readily-admits its love and obsession of Disney, is excited about the prospects that this summer will bring. 

“The Disney Parks, when you walk in, you feel instantly this magic and happiness,” says Brodsky. “You can’t be upset there. Being there, and seeing and feeling all of that daily will be incredible.”

You can follow the group’s adventures on Twitter by following @DeisDoesDisney