by Peri Gregg, Admissions Advisor
If you have ever spoken to me for longer than 15 minutes, you know that it usually takes me no time at all to mention my love for Auburn. I had very high expectations for my college experience, and my expectations as a student at Auburn University were exceeded in ways that I had never imagined. While it is difficult to narrow down the reasons I love this school, one of the main ones is that it led me to living out one of my lifelong dreams.
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to work for The Walt Disney Company. Like many people, I grew up visiting Disney theme parks, watching the films and singing my heart out to my favorite princess songs. As a public relations major at Auburn, my professors often emphasized that storytelling is the key to resonating with an audience. Disney immediately came to mind as a company that I admired and wanted to learn from in this regard. If I was going to be a storyteller myself, then who better to learn from than one of the most renowned storytelling companies in the world?
I began to work very hard and use all the tools that Auburn offered to make this dream a reality. From resources like the Miller Writing Center to the Career and Discovery Center, numerous places on campus helped set me up for success. I also got involved in clubs such as the Public Relations Student Society of America and The Oaks Agency. These organizations helped me connect with other PR students and expand what I was learning in the classroom. One of the places I learned the most was as a Marketing Assistant at the Auburn University Bookstore. As a student, I helped with email, social media and content creation for an actual organization on campus! In my public relations courses, our professors would challenge us with projects to create campaigns from start to finish. We would often be tasked with creating “pretend” communication collateral for a company of our choosing. Of course, I always chose Disney!
Senior year, it was time to put all the hard work to the test and begin applying for Disney Professional Internships. I will never forget getting the call that I was being offered a position with the Public Affairs Communication Team at Walt Disney World. The tears started welling up in my eyes before I even had time to process what the person on the other end of the line was saying. The hard work that I had put towards achieving my dream had finally paid off. My first thought was that I would not be where I was at that moment if it hadn’t been for the professors, peers and supervisors that believed in me and helped me.
In the Disney movie The Princess and the Frog, Tiana’s father reminds her that wishing on stars can only take you part of the way, and that hard work is the key to making your dreams come true. The Auburn Creed echoes this sentiment with the line, “I believe in work, hard work.”
Make the most out of what Auburn has to give you. With a lot of hard work and a little bit of faith, trust, and pixie dust, you just might find your dreams coming true too.
