How did you discover Anderson University? 

I grew up in South Carolina, so I knew about AU. I had friends at my church growing up that went to AU while I was still in high school and heard great things from them. When it came time for me to tour schools, it was at the top of the list. The fact that AU was a Christian college was exciting to me. At the time I was interested in graphic design, but didn't fully know if that was the right path for me. I was excited to try it, but definitely nervous that it wouldn’t be a good fit. The more I learned about AU's Art and Design program and talked to faculty, it just felt like this would be the perfect place for me to get to try it out and be in a comfortable place to be new at something. The fact that it was a community of like-minded believers really made a difference.  

What are some of your favorite college memories? 

Oh, my gosh! There's so many! I really think that some of the smallest moments are probably my favorite memories, like spending late nights in the studio. It was a mix of working really hard, but also just goofing off together and building a tight-knit community. 

I was really involved with BCM, so Thursday nights at the AC (Athletic Center) Gym were always some of my fondest memories. I also got the chance to spend summers on campus working Base Camp Orientation. Those were some of the most carefree times getting to be on campus when it was quiet in the summer. I found a lot of belonging with the Base Camp/Student Involvement staff getting to spend all summer together with no classes. Even just hanging out on the front lawn with my friends and doing homework out there. I feel like those many small moments are what I look back on and remember best. The sense of community, I think, is what I really cherish. 

Tell me about your work for Disney.  

I am based in Glendale, California at the Walt Disney Imagineering Office. Imagineering is the creative force behind all the theme parks, cruise lines and resorts. The graphics studio oversees all things graphic design within those spaces and in the creative development of them. 

How did you get plugged into Disney? 

It still feels like such a crazy story—God led me to this dream. I've grown up around Disney. My family always went to the parks growing up. I loved the movies and everything about Disney’s stories. I think it really is where my love of storytelling comes from, but it was always just as a fan and as someone that loved what they created. Once I started at AU in the design program, I started to view it in a different way—as a designer. I thought, “Okay, these are people just like me. People's hands are behind all of this.”  

My senior year I did research on Imagineering as part of the early stages of my senior thesis project, looking into their creative process. Imagineering is the part of the business that designs the physical experiences. It’s more than just pixels on a screen. There’s a lot of problem-solving that comes with designing stories in a physical, immersive space. It felt like something finally clicked for me. This was the perfect combination of technical, analytical thinking that's needed for this type of work and a deep sense of creativity and love for storytelling. Once I did the research and starting to see it that way, it became a dream to work somewhere like that.  

My family went to Disney for Christmas of my senior year, and it felt like I was visiting for the first time. I saw everything with a different lens. I was paying attention to all the signs, props in the rides, the trash can designs, and anything that you could think of that a graphic designer would have touched. It just sparked something in me that this could be something I see myself doing.  

I always kind of battled with the idea that the path for designers was to end up at an agency, working in marketing or branding. Don’t get me wrong, those are all very exciting career paths, but it didn't quite feel like it was a fit for me to end up in that environment. Once I discovered that Disney had an internship program, that became my new goal, and I just did all the work to get my portfolio and resumé ready. I applied to so many and got a lot of “no,” but this was the one where the door opened up—at Imagineering. I couldn’t have dreamed it up better. 

Did it start with an internship and transition into something else? Tell us about that process. 

It started with a six-month internship. Their internship program is geared towards post-grad as way of bridging that gap into an entry-level position. Once I got to the end of the six months they extended me for another six months. I was set to do a full year of an internship before figuring out what was next, but about a month ago they extended an offer to convert to full-time. I am now a full-time Associate Graphic Designer here, which is super exciting.  

What’s a typical day like being a designer at Disney? 

It varies. Every day is very different. But as an overarching idea of what our team works on day-to-day, the graphics studio handles all of the signage and environmental graphic design within the park. Everything from the ride marquees to safety signage to some of the show props and more. And then there's also information design. This includes pitch decks and other presentation design support for projects as they’re working to get the needed approvals. It’s really cool to work with creative directors so early in the process—the stage called “blue sky” at Imagineering. They’re still figuring out the project and what they want it to be, and I’m able to be the one to translate their ideas into a pitch deck that is going to then be taken to the executives and other teams that give the buy off for the project to be built.  

And then another side of our studio’s work is typography and branding. I've gotten to work closely with the designer that manages all the typography and font licensing for Imagineering. This has been really cool, because I was involved with the growth of a big typography design initiative at AU (AUTF), and that was something that I was so passionate about in college. AU really fueled that passion in me, so to be able to take what I learned at AU and translate it directly to the work at Imagineering is special. I was able to bring that to the table and say, “Hey, I have experience in this,” and that experience has opened up doors for me to work on projects building font software and developing out typefaces for project teams.  

I would imagine that Disney’s brand standards are pretty well defined. 

There's definitely a lot of structure to it. But at the same time there's a lot of creative freedom to build on the stories while staying within those guidelines. Imagineering takes stories created by other areas of the company (Walt Disney Animation, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, etc.) and translates those stories into physical environments. So there are standards set, but it's interesting to see how all of the collaboration happens between business divisions to be able to build on what’s already well defined. 

Are you working in an office, remote or hybrid? 

We work in the office, but we can work remotely on Fridays. It's a very fun office culture. It feels like a true creative environment and everyone is always collaborating. Since there’s a lot of confidentiality to the work happening at Imagineering, it feels like such a privilege to me that I get to step into those spaces every day. I listened to an interview that Disney did with Robert Downey Jr. recently talking about his experience visiting Imagineering’s headquarters here in Glendale and he called it “the area 51 of fun”—I feel like that sums it up pretty well. 

What are some ways you feel like your AU education is helping you now in your job? 

Oh my gosh! I don't know if I can even put into words how much I feel like AU has prepared me. Something I really appreciate about the design program is how nothing is surface level. We learned not just to use the tools, but how to think and how to approach a creative problem with a lot of research and depth, considering all the possibilities, no matter what the tools and situation. I think that's translated really well into work I do now that I didn’t have exposure to in school. Design for theme parks isn’t exactly something that is part of a college design curriculum, so the fact that I'm coming in with that way of thinking and approaching a creative problem is helpful. Learning how to collaborate with people—that's something that I think AU does really well. We were always bouncing ideas off each other and getting feedback in the studio. And we worked so closely with the professors that I know how to take direction from a creative lead and take feedback not as a personal criticism, but as something is going to help the project grow. 

I could go on and on about that question, because I think I've come into this very prepared. I haven't always been confident in my design abilities—something I struggled with a lot in college is gaining confidence. This last year of my life has been difficult—coming out of AU—it's a dream job which can be very intimidating feeling like I have to prove myself. But, I have fallen back on what I learned at AU, and it has proven to give me the confidence I need.  

What's your favorite part of your job? 

Typography really is my passion area of design. That's the kind of work that I could do for hours on end. I have so much fun doing it. I think doing it here at Imagineering has been my favorite part. Not only is it pulling on historical reference, but also stories that are so loved by so many people. There's just so many layers of storytelling that I think typography holds and I feel like I've gotten the full range of that all the way from AU to Disney.  

So many generations have grown up around Disney. They've visited the theme parks. They’ve watched their movies. Do you ever pinch yourself and ask yourself if it’s real? 

All the time! A lot of mornings I'll walk in and just look around and think, “Wow! I'm really doing this!” I never thought it would be possible.  

What kind of advice would you give to somebody who wants to pursue an opportunity at Disney? 

It's a hard question because sometimes it feels like a fluke that I'm even here. So, I feel like it's hard to answer that. I think it takes a lot of hard work on the front end of things, curating a portfolio that really showcases your unique skills and what you’re passionate about.  

I think a big thing with the internship program at Disney is that they value other intern experiences that you have. So, having other internships on your resumé I think is important. The design program at AU requires you to have one, so that was something that worked in my favor. But I think a big part of it is just being able to talk about your work and showcase how you think. 

I remember my current boss, who was interviewing me at the time, saying, “I really appreciate getting to hear how you think and showcasing your process rather than just the end product of something.” In our interview I pulled up an in-progress document of something I was working on at the time, and it was really scary that this was not complete. But we had a really great conversation about the way I was thinking through things and solving problems along the way. So, I think I would tell anyone to think about the process and the way you think and what you bring to the table in that way. Five people could approach the same creative problem and solve it differently. The way that you approach that is what adds value.  

And then also just have a love for the stories. I think it would be hard to work here and not love the stories that Disney tells—that makes the work just so joyful and fun. That's something that I have encouraged myself in and would encourage anyone else to do—find something that you are really excited about telling stories with and just run with that and be passionate about it. 

When you're not working at Disney, what do you enjoy doing? 

I love hiking and spending time outside. Anything that gets me out in nature. I love to go to a coffee shop and read or hang out with friends there. I love art history, so I’ve been able to take advantage of visiting the many art museums here. Those have been my favorite pastimes outside of work lately. I’m also very involved with my church and spend a lot of time with them and serving where I can. Recently, that’s looked like working with them helping with the fire relief efforts in LA. Thankfully, I wasn’t affected by the fires personally, but it's been close to my heart. 

Where do you go to church? 

I go to The Abiding Church, which is a church plant in LA. Sarah Pepper, who is also an AU alum, moved out to LA after she graduated. She connected me to the church, and they've been the sweetest community for me here.