How it all started.

I often get asked ‘how do you find these work abroad things?’ 

The first time I participated in a working holiday program was in the summer of 2011.

It was around the time of university applications being sent and I remember being at college and discussing with my class what our plans for the future were. A girl in my class said she had been looking at this program called Camp America where you get to go to America for the summer and work at a summer camp teaching a skill to children and the best part you get payed and have time to travel after. So when I got home that day I told my mum all about this and was like I HAVE to do this it sounds amazing so my mum agreed and I applied online. I ended up getting placed at a camp in Wyoming and Montana with the Girl Scouts.

I travelled after I had finished working at the camp and then started my first year at Uni, I decided I didn’t want to have a boring summer of doing nothing and I wanted to see more of America so I applied again to try a different camp, this time I ended up getting placed at a private camp in West Virginia to teach drama. After camp my best friend flew out to meet me and we went to DisneyWorld together, I got talking to a Cast Members and he asked if I was doing the ‘DCP’ I had no idea what he was talking about.

When I returned home and was sad about being back at Uni and in England, I thought about the conversation with that Cast Member and thought, maybe this ‘DCP’ thing is how you get to work at Disney! So I did some research and it turned out that DCP stood for Disney College Program, my childhood dreams were about to become a reality. First was to get through the tough hiring process, which I managed to do and so I was off to the land of magic, pixie dust and princesses for the summer.

I got back to England just in time for my third and final year of uni, and I thought to myself I will not go back to America this summer, I wanted to do the DCP again but my Uni didn’t finish for summer in time (boohoo). So I tried to make travel plans with friends, they either didn’t have the time off work or the money or whatever. I thought to myself I refuse to spend my last summer holiday stuck at home bored then Yummy Jobs who do the hiring process for the Disney program, started a new program with Loews at Universal in Orlando. This sounded perfect for me, so I quickly applied and waited for the outcome. Luckily I got offered a place on the program and off I went the day after I finished uni. I am so glad that I decided to do this as it turned out to be the best summer I’ve ever had and saw me travel to so many places and meet my best friends!

So this is how I ended up doing my summer work and travel programs. I guess I really have that girl at college to thank for it all, as without her bringing up Camp America I may never have discovered it and opened myself up to these windows of opportunities. If you’re reading, thanks Naomi!

xo