Describe your current position and some of the responsibilities that come with it. 

Currently, I work with Disney Entertainment as an assistant costume buyer at Disneyland in Anaheim, California! My responsibilities include managing samples, maintaining our digital costume databases and records, writing and processing orders to vendors, and tracking orders as they ship to and from vendors and our various theme park sites around the world. Currently I am specializing in hard line and electronic items for our live entertainment offerings in the theme parks and cruise ships.

Why did you decide to pursue your current career path?

Growing up, I’d always had a passion for design and clothing; I was always sketching dresses in my notebooks, made designs for my dolls, and I learned to sew at a young age on my mom’s old machine. Fast forward to me getting ready to enter my senior year in the CSU Department of Design and Merchandiising in 2015, I started considering where I would want to complete an internship, and more importantly for me, where I would land after that. One of my great friends who was completing her apparel and merchandising minor at the time had recently done the Disney College Program in Florida, and once I checked with my advisor that it could count as my internship, I jumped on applying immediately! I wasn’t sure if the fast-paced environment of New York where students often take internships was for me, and I’ve always had a strong love for Disney. I was chosen to participate in the 8-month program at Disneyland on the west coast, which at the time was much smaller and therefore more selective than the east coast program. I started my internship backstage at Disneyland issuing costumes to our cast members- and after that ended, I transferred to the entertainment department. I fell in love with working with the live entertainment costumes, performers, and the energy that surrounds that world, which has led me to the role I’m in now: where I am still working with those fun shows and experiences, but in the early behind-the-scenes phases, months and sometimes years before it gets rolled out to the public. I’ve had the opportunity to try many roles in my time here, and I am grateful to continue to have lots of opportunities for advancement. The biggest reason I’m still on this career path though, is because I know the impact I’m making on children and family’s lives across the world, and I know the joy first-hand when you see one of our live shows or get to hug your childhood hero for the first time. It’s such a rewarding feeling knowing that I’m helping to make that magic happen, even if I’m not always out there to see it happening in real time.

How have your education and experiences at CSU helped you in your career?  

I often tell people that one of the best benefits of getting my degree from CSU vs. a specialized fashion design school is I got a much more well-rounded education. I feel that my degree being a four-year Bachelor of Science really set me apart from others in the industry, as it shows I learned more than what some would expect to come with an undergraduate apparel degree- including being more science heavy and requiring a range of standard courses other students from different colleges at CSU are also taking. Outside of all of the hard and soft skills I learned in classes, it was great for me to have support and friends outside of the program, and also to have a group of people who go through the same courses together, learn each other’s personal design styles, and could lean on each other for help, support, and inspiration.

What advice do you have for students looking to join your field?

The advice I have would be to keep your mind open, and listen to yourself about what environments and situations help you thrive and be your best. There’s not just one path you can take with an apparel degree when you graduate, there’s a huge range of possibilities, so you’ll need to consider what’s best for you. I’d also say don’t worry too much about what the title of the role is when you take your first job in the field, there’s a lot more to consider, like: what experiences can I gain from this job or internship? What’s more important to me in the long run- the job location, the company’s name and reputation, or gaining experiences that will help me get into a career niche I’m really interested in? My last bit of advice is to always throw yourself out there, apply to jobs even if you don’t meet every requirement, and once you start working somewhere you enjoy, make it known to the people around and above you that you’re eager to learn and move up. Oftentimes we mark ourselves off as ineligible or unfit for a position before even giving the recruiter a chance to look at our application. I always remind myself- the worst they can say is no, either directly or with silence, but there’s several other positive outcomes that could happen too. You’ll never know if you don’t try!