BUCKHANNON – Kirby Forbes ‘24 of Hurricane, West Virginia, ventured to the Sunshine State and found herself with a magical opportunity.

Forbes is pursuing two degrees, one is a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and the other is a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from West Virginia Wesleyan College. As required, internships have to be completed in order to obtain these degrees and Forbes landed one at Disney University.

She stated, “Doing the Disney College Program has been a dream of mine ever since I was a little kid.”

Disney University offers Disney College Programs where Forbes is completing her internship. She has worked at food and beverage kiosks during festivals that have taken place in Epcot.

“I was able to work during the last month and a half of the Flower and Garden Festival and now the Food and Wine Festival is in full swing,” Forbes said. “At Disney University, I am able to attend classes offered, such as leadership classes. I’m planning to start some of the classes within the next few weeks.”

Forbes will be able to build on the skills that she has developed while attending West Virginia Wesleyan College. She remarked, “Wesleyan has prepared me for this opportunity because I have been able to use my knowledge and leadership skills to help me grow in this program.”

“I believe this is 100% influencing my future career because I get to see first hand all the hard work and dedication it takes to be a part of this company,” Forbes said.

She has used criminal justice experience when observing security operations from day to day and is applying it to what she has learned. However, her psychology major has assisted her more prominently since her involvement in Disney.

”Psychology is widely used at Disney, so simply working or going to the parks on my days off allows me to observe the guests and environments,” she said. “Since I’m a Service Scholar at Wesleyan and my service site is a daycare, I have a better understanding when it comes to working around children.”

She has experienced many memorable moments, but her favorites have been those with the children. Forbes stated, “Seeing a child’s face light up just by simply talking to them about their day or creating a magical moment for them is such an amazing experience.”

Forbes plans on continuing the internship throughout the fall semester while taking other courses that are available and hopes to continue her career at Disney following graduation.