Cassondra Jones spent nearly a year working at the World of Disney store, as well as several other gift shops throughout Walt Disney World.
Submitted photo
GREENFIELD – Making magic for others was the highlight of internship programs at Walt Disney World for two Hancock County college students.
Madeline Rojowski and Cassondra Jones both recently returned from internships at the Florida resort. While both came back with rave reviews, there was also a lot of work and determination in exploring a whole new world of friendships and job experiences.
Both are Hancock County natives and worked at the resort simultaneously, but they didn’t run into each other: Rojowski worked in food while Jones worked in merchandise. Still, they both lived in resort-style college housing and have similar stories of building friendships and expanding their midwest roots.
“My family used to go (to Walt Disney World) all the time and I found out about the program when I was like 10,” said Rojowski of New Palestine. “I saw someone with a name tag (with a college listed) so I thought, ‘I’m going to do that one day.’”
Scratching it off her bucket list wasn’t quite so easy, though. She discovered it’s a lot of physical labor, and being on her own for the first time without friends or family nearby was difficult. Rojowski did the program from January to July, serving up popcorn, candied nuts and ice cream to guests at the Magic Kingdom.
“I was worried that working there that (the magic) would go away, and my mom was like, ‘You can’t let the magic go away, it’s a beautiful place,’” Rojowski said. “Looking back on it, it’s still the place I remember as a kid and I just know more behind the scenes about it. I thought it was cool to make the magic for people because I have such fond memories of cast members doing that for me.”
Over time, she found a group of friends and built a community in Florida. One major perk was being able to visit the theme parks on her own or with friends and enjoy the rides and fireworks when she wasn’t working.
Rojowski is heading into her senior year at Indiana University and has studied philosophy and political science. She wants to go back to WDW when she graduates to continue to work. There are more opportunities she wants to explore, she said, such as employee perks of behind-the-scenes tours of rides late at night or previews of new fireworks shows.
Both women said getting used to fluctuating the hours was difficult – college students are often given the closing hours of the parks, so shifts would sometimes run as late as 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Jones was based out of the World of Disney, the world’s largest Disney store located in Disney Springs on the WDW property.
But her merchandising role led her all across the resort – her goal was to work at the major gift shops of all four theme parks, and she accomplished that. She also enjoyed working at smaller, specialized gift shops located near rides.
Jones said wearing costumes – the Disney term for uniforms – was fun because each location had its own theming. Her favorite spot was Hollywood Studios, both for the costumes and the vibe.
One of her favorite perks of the job was also just exploring the parks on her off time, maybe grabbing a bite to eat and call home to chat with her parents about where she was and what she was seeing.
But her family couldn’t stay away too long – her parents and siblings visited while she was working, and sometimes she’d run into friends from Eastern Hancock High School or Anderson University.
“Talk about a small world,” she said.
Jones went to WDW as a recent college graduate with a degree from Anderson University in public relations with a focus in event planning. She not only got merchandising experience, she said, but also took classes and lectures in several areas such as management, guest relations, social media and security. She said it was a good way to grow personally and professionally, and was honored to receive a quarterly award from the company for her work.
“It gets you out of the small town feel to learn a lot,” Jones said of the internship. “It’s definitely easy to get caught up in the moment at Disney and think it’s the most magical place on earth, but someone has to run the most magical place on earth, it’s not all about going into the parks and riding rides. We’re there to create the magical moments for those guests.”
Jones was recently hired as assistant manager at Piney Acres Farm, the Fortville Christmas tree farm that includes agritourism activities year-round.
“I want to take what I’ve learned from Disney and take it back home and help build my community,” she said. “I love my community, I love Hancock County and I want to apply my skills.”
