His dream job was given to him and then ripped from his grasp all within a year, said Brandon Galli, a junior from Utah majoring in elementary education. He said he was left questioning why it was happening. During this time of confusion, he said one thought stayed with him, “God has always been the one who has been there for me, he has never failed me, so why would he fail me now?”
The Disney College Program is an opportunity for students to work at Disney World or Disneyland and gain college credit in the process, Galli said, explaining he was accepted into the program in 2019 and stayed there until 2020, when he was offered his dream job as a character attendant. He said his role in this job was to monitor the meet-and-greets between the characters and guests.
Galli said COVID-19 forced Disney to let go of 30,000 people, including him, in the middle of living his dream. He said he found peace by leaving the next step in his life up to God even though he did not know what the next chapter of his life would bring.
After a year of waiting in Florida for Disney to reopen and offer him his job back, Galli said he felt the next chapter in his life was attending BYU–Hawaii.
Galli said this was a difficult decision for him because on his drive home, before flying to Hawaii, he received a call from Disney offering him his job back.“I had to pull over the car and sort through my emotions because I had made this decision to come [to BYUH] and I couldn’t go back. … It convinced me this is where I am supposed to be [and] this is where God wants me.” He said he needed to move forward to the next chapter of life. “I realized some things are better left as a memory.”
Finding passion and purpose
Olivia Hixson, a senior from California majoring in hospitality and tourism management, said she was recently accepted into the Disney College Program.
Hixson said her first semester at BYUH did not go as planned because she had difficulty finding peace due to anxiety and missing her family. It was hard to find ways to cope and heal, so although she did not want to go home during the pandemic and changed her mind several times, she said going home ended up being just what she needed. “That was the only way I was able to find more of myself,” she explained.
Although something unexpected happened, Hixson said her planning and research, such as making to-do lists, helped her deal with the new changes.
When she went home during the pandemic, she said she got a job at a hotel’s front desk, which allowed her to apply what she learned in her hospitality classes. She said this helped her heal because she found more of a purpose for her life in her passion for hospitality.
Hixson said she also found things to look forward to in life. She explained she sees life in steps, and people need to take baby steps to figure out what they want to do. “I get a lot of gratification through my jobs. … That is how I found more confidence in myself,” Hixson said.
She said she came to BYUH to study hospitality with a goal of getting a long-term career at Disney. She added she set her mind to achieving her dream and works hard to achieve it.“Things might fall into place, but hard work is required to succeed,” she explained, emphasizing how people can’t expect to be excited about their future unless they work hard.
Getting into the Disney College Program fulfilled her goal, so she said she is looking forward to what her next step brings. “My biggest hope already came true because I wanted to work for Disney,” she added.
Embracing life
Annabelle Greene, a freshman from Utah who is an undecided major, is starting the Disney World internship in April 2022. She said she has learned to face life with arms wide open. Although she took many steps to get to BYUH, she said she didn’t expect it to be so hard without family and friends.
Although it has been hard, Greene said she learned and grew as she coped with these changes and healed. “I have been able to embrace experiencing new things,” she said. One of these new things was applying for the Disney internship, which she said she might not have done before this experience.
Greene said her new outlook on life is, “Just see what happens and embrace it.” She said BYUH has prepared her for her internship at Disney because of the diversity she has been able to experience, and the Disney internship “is another step into broadening [her] horizons and meeting people from all around the world.”
Galli said he learned to embrace whatever time is left in any chapter of life. During his last shift at Disney, he said he encountered a child named Isaiah who had down syndrome and cancer. He said as the little boy walked up to Mickey and Minnie, he said to Isaiah, “Oh my gosh, Mickey and Minnie have been asking for you all day, Isaiah.”
Galli said everyone was crying, and “it was a magical moment.” Of the experience, Galli shared, “It changed my whole perspective of how there are bigger things and God does have a plan for me.”
Finding peace
Hixson said through the unknown, she found peace through her passion for her career. She added the key to dealing with distance from family “is navigating those ups and downs” and being okay with not having family nearby at the moment.
Galli said, “Disney showed me how important it is to find what [I] believe in.” He explained change can cause grief, but through his experience at Disney World, he found his belief in magic and its power to heal grief.
He explained he sees magic through God in his life, but someone else may interpret the magic in their life in a different way. Galli said the magic he has seen comes from serving others. “I can’t see God sitting next to me, but I can see my friend sitting next to me,” he explained. He said he is always there for his friends and ready to serve them, and they do the same for him.
Greene shared, “The energy you give is going to be the energy you attract.” She said she uses this thought when she wants to make friends. She added she tries to be the type of person she wants in her life.
Hixson said finding supportive people is one of the most important things to do when dealing with the unknown, such as going to college away from family.•