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Character integrity is very important in my role as a character performer. During our intricate few weeks of training, we learn many ways to represent our characters in a way that’s recognizable to any guest around the Disney Park. Upholding the magic of each character is important to create a story that Disney tells throughout their parks worldwide. They want every guest to feel special and connect to each character as they would at any Disney Park. Because of character integrity I can’t go too much into detail but I do help portray a Disney Princess and some of Mickey Mouse’s other friends at the Disney Parks. I also have the opportunity to be in Fantasmic [a nighttime musical show] at Walt Disney World almost every night, along with other show offerings at Disney.

I have been working for the Disney Company for about two years now. I have nothing but great things to say about my time here. I started off working at Disney World as part of the Disney College Program. It’s a great way for college students to get their feet wet in a friendly work environment with other students from around the world. The Disney College Program allowed me to expand my knowledge and helped me form a wonderful work ethic, which included networking with different lines of business.

My hope for the future is to become more involved with event planning through Disney. I’ve always had a passion for planning events and planned multiple events during my time at SA���ʴ�ý’s University—including annual Luau and many ASSMU events.

My experience at SA���ʴ�ý’s was fantastic. From when I was a freshman, I felt a great connection to my SA���ʴ�ý’s community. I was involved with the Hui ‘O Hawaii club for all four years and had active roles as entertainment chair, luau chair, vice president and president. When I was a junior, I became a resident assistant to first-year students. And I also had the opportunity to get involved with our student government, ASSMU, as senator of athletics my junior year and as secretary my senior year. I also joined other clubs and organizations along the way like the Business Club, Health and Wellness Committee and other diversity clubs. I honestly enjoyed every second of the wonderful chaos that my college life was because it allowed me to connect with so many people, which made my college career everything that I wanted it to be.

 SA���ʴ�ý’s has definitely helped me get out of my comfort zone and try things that I never would’ve tried before. I think this is partly because SA���ʴ�ý’s is a smaller community that allowed me to expand and try multiple things. After graduating college, I decided to move to Florida to work at Disney World in merchandise at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. I worked there as a host and trainer for about six months before auditioning to become a character performer. I’d performed before, but nothing that I would have imagined doing now—especially considering I graduated college with a business degree. But I built up the courage and went to the audition, and to my surprise was kept to the very end. A few days later I got the call and the rest is history. I don’t think I would’ve been able to convince myself to take the leap of faith and go to the audition if it wasn’t for my very supportive family and friends. Thanks to them and SA���ʴ�ý’s, I have been given the opportunity to create magic every day.

There are many influential people that I have met during my time at SA���ʴ�ý’s, but as corny as it is, I have to say that I was always inspired by my boyfriend and fellow SA���ʴ�ý’s alum Trevor Ventura. Trevor graduated from SA���ʴ�ý’s in 2014 with a double major in accounting and business management. We met in Hawaii during my freshmen orientation, and ever since then he has encouraged me and motivated me to take risks. He worked for the Alumni Relations office and was part of helping out at the Gala every year, while I worked across the way at the Admissions office. His outgoing nature allowed him to make many friends and he was a great leader to multiple clubs. He paved the way for me to become my best self and influenced me to try new things.

Try everything! I wouldn’t be where I am now if I hadn’t tried. There will always be people or doubts telling you you’re not good enough, but prove them wrong. And even in the end, if it doesn’t work out, at least you can say you went for it and now you have feedback on what to do differently next time.

SA���ʴ�ý’s is such a tight-knit community. Even before I decided that I was going to attend SA���ʴ�ý’s, I went for a campus visit, and people were greeting me and making me feel welcomed as if they knew me personally.