OCTC’s Fulkerson selected for Disney College Program

March 3, 2020 | 8:16 am

Updated March 3, 2020 | 8:16 am

Owensboro Community & Technical College (OCTC) student Rachel Fulkerson has been selected to participate in the Disney College Program at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. The five- to seven-month paid internship provides students the opportunity to gain valuable, on-the-job experience, network with leaders, take part in personal and career development classes and build transferable skills such customer service and effective communication. Fulkerson will live in a Disney-sponsored housing complex with other students from all over country.

Fulkerson is ecstatic about the opportunity.

“If someone would’ve told me a year ago that I’d be working at Disney, I wouldn’t have believed them,” she said. “But if you want something, you have to go for it.”

That’s exactly what she did. She began the three-step application process for the Disney College Program in mid-January. She first submitted a formal application and then responded to a web-based interview that consisted of personality and situational questions. Once Disney personnel evaluated those pieces, they decided to schedule a phone interview with her as a final step in the process.

“I was so nervous about the interview,” Fulkerson said. “I just kept thinking, ‘I really want this. I want to be prepared’, but I didn’t know what to do exactly.”

She met with one of OCTC’s Experiential Learning Success Coaches, John Bristow, to discuss her upcoming call. She said the mock interview she had with Bristow gave her the encouragement and confidence she needed going into the interview with Disney. They emailed her two business days after the interview to formally offer her an internship.

Even though Fulkerson will not find out the exact location of her internship (within the resort) until about a week before she leaves, the unknown is not overshadowing her excitement.

“I am a little hesitant because I’ve never lived away from home, but I know I’ve got this,” she said. “I can’t wait until August.”

After returning from Disney, Fulkerson plans to transfer and enroll at Western Kentucky University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Marketing.

March 3, 2020 | 8:16 am

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