Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

A little over seven months later, and I've graduated from the Disney College Program! I can't believe how fast time has flown. The CP was an unforgettable experience. I learned a lot, worked a lot, and most importantly, I played a lot. :) I met and worked with people from all over the world: Columbia, China, France, Australia, Singapore, Morocco, Taiwan, Brazil, and England are the ones I can remember off the top of my head.

I jumped in about 15 times, and almost half of those times were for the Vigilance Awareness Tests (vats). My best time was just under 3 seconds. We had to get to them within 30 sec. I was visually audited by Ellis once and by Disney a handful of times (I passed those!). Within the last couple of weeks the Wilderness Lodge was audited by Ellis. I thought I'd make it through my program without being audited...they must have known I wouldn't be there much longer. lol An Ellis instructor faked an unconscious drowning in the deep end of the pool. We had to backboard her out, take her pulse, do CPR, use the fake AED, etc. It was one of the most intense moments I've ever had as a lifeguard. Thankfully, we passed the test!!! The Bay Lake Region recreation team was amazing. They are like a family to me, and I was fortunate to be placed as a lifeguard there. While lifeguarding was a nice change of pace for me, I'm so looking forward to designing again!

Next Tuesday I begin a new chapter in my life. I begin my Professional Internship with the Disney Design Group. I'm quite nervous, but extremely excited! I'll be working M–F 8am–5pm, which will be a nice change from my 10 hour lifeguarding shifts. And the only way I'll get even a little wet is if it's raining when I head into work! I move into my new apartment tomorrow morning with three other interns. I lucked out with some amazing roommates in my CP and I hope the same will happen again.

Well, I think that's all for now! I'll blog when I can!

Thanks for reading,
Erica