Disney or DC? Intern at 2 of the Most Exciting Places in America

How would you like to work in the shadow of Cinderella’s Castle or the U.S. Capitol?

Central Penn College is part of a once-in-a-lifetime program to offer internships in Disney World in sunny Florida, and for federal government agencies in the Washington, DC power center. You can earn both money and college credits, along with invaluable experience that will set your resume far apart from the rest.  

The Disney program is specifically for students from the Business Administration program.  Students can work in one of 20 guest-facing areas, including guest relations, attractions, food and beverage, and other areas.  Supplementing their work in the parks/resorts, students complete career development workshops such as networking, interviewing, and resume-building. The Disney College program is for college credit.  

According to Kristin Fike, Internship Coordinator and Adjunct Faculty, Disney also operates a Professional Internship program that is separate and not for credit.  This program has more major-specific and program-specific internships such as communications, IT, marketing, etc. and is more common for graduates to do immediately after graduation.  If you are interested in this Professional Internship, you can do it on your own time.  

Disney internship

Here is a snapshot of the credit-earning Disney College Program with our specific Central Penn requirements.    

• Paid – starts at $14/hour
• Internships take place May to August and September to January 
• Student must have full schedule availability and can expect to work 30-50 hours a week 
• Schedules are 5 workdays and 2 days off
• Students live in Flamingo Crossings Village apartment complex, close to Animal Kingdom
• Rent is deducted from your paycheck each week
• Bus transportation is provided to the resorts and parks

Students earn 12 credits for successful completion of this program.  Students must preplan their academic schedule and course load to complete this program. The 12 earned credits can be distributed amongst internship, experiential learning, intersection, open elective, minor. These internships will run over our Spring, Summer and Fall terms.  

Students are required to have at least a 3.0 GPA to be considered to apply for the Disney College Program.  Students who are interested in the program should contact Kristin Fike at kristinfike@centralpenn.edu to begin the academic eligibility process with Central Penn before they apply to Disney.  Central Penn students can complete their internship any time after 75% completion of their credits.  If students apply and are accepted into the program before they reach 75% of their credits, they will need to work with Kristin Fike to seek early internship approval from their program director.    

Washington, DC internship 

Central Penn has had a partnership with Washington Internship Institute since 2010.  Since that time, 11 students have completed the program. 

Here are some of the agencies our students have worked in and learned from:

• Humane Society of the United States
• US Department of the Treasury
• US Department of Homeland Security
• US Coast Guard Office of International Affairs 
• Brady Campaign to Stop Gun Violence
• Center for Nonprofit Advancement
• Internal Revenue Service
• Ridge Global, LLC
• Silicon Valley Defense Group 

Here is our WII website:  https://wiidc.org/central-penn.  

The Washington Internship Institute experience is offered through an agreement between the Washington Institute and Central Penn College.  The program is performed in Washington, D.C. where students complete an internship in a professional setting such as federal agencies, congressional offices, embassies, businesses and a variety of nonprofit and advocacy organizations.  This highly competitive structured program includes on-the-job educational experience coupled with two academic courses and seminars in theory and practice.  This hands-on opportunity allows students to apply, analyze, synthesize and evaluate the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to the working environment of our national government.

Students earn 12 credits for successful completion of this program.  Students must preplan their academic schedule and course load to complete this program. The 12 earned credits can be distributed amongst internship, experiential learning, intersection, open elective, minor. These internships will run over our Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall terms. 

Students are required to have at least a 3.0 GPA to be considered to apply for the Washington Internship Institute Program.  Students who are interested in the program should contact Kristin Fike at kristinfike@centralpenn.edu to begin the academic eligibility process with Central Penn before they apply to WII.  Central Penn students can complete their internship any time after 75% completion of their credits.  If students apply and are accepted into the program before they reach 75% of their credits, they would need to work with Kristin Fike to seek early internship approval from their program director.    

For more information on these exciting opportunities, please contact kristinfike@centralpenn.edu.