Our Love Story: Part 14

Preface: If you’ve missed any of the “chapters” of our love story so far, go back & get caught up before continuing below!
Part 1 — Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5 — Part 6 — Part 7 — Part 8 — Part 9 — Part 10 — Part 11 — Part 12 — Part 13

October 17 was my birthday, but it didn’t quite feel like my birthday without a certain tall person around to help celebrate it. That evening, after a small celebration with my family, my baby sister Ruby came down to my bedroom. I was on Facebook & as she peeked over my shoulder to see what I was doing, she pointed to my laptop screen: “There’s Derrick!” she piped in her squeaky 3-year-old voice.

“Yes it is,” I answered back.

“I like Derrick,” she innocently commented.

I smiled & turned around to her, “Oh yes, me too. I miss him.”

To which she dove into my arms & gave me a big hug: “I miss him too.”

The day after my birthday was when I first discovered the Disney College Program. While walking down the halls of Westmoreland County Community College on my way to class, I noticed a poster that I hadn’t seen before. It was purple, had the outline of Cinderella’s Castle on it, and proclaimed: “Magic. Experience. Paid Internships.” in bright yellow letters. Completely intrigued, I jotted down the website address & took note that there would be a presentation on the Program happening at the college the following week.

That night, after getting home from class & work at KFC, I dove deep into the world of the Disney College Program. Having just been at Disney World with my Aunt & Uncle at the beginning of the year, an obsession for all things Disney was fresh on my brain. The concept of going to Florida for a few months, to work at the “Happiest Place On Earth” & get internship credit at the same time suddenly got me super excited. I was 19 years old & ready to do something different with my life. I wanted my “Year 19” to be different than my “Year 18”, and going to work at Disney definitely qualified as “different”.

So, up to this point, my “college career” had been kind of all over the place. I started at Community College at a high school Junior, so they didn’t place me into a specific major or program. I simply started out by taking basic classes that would not only qualify for dual high school & college credit, but were also prerequisites to almost any major. As I registered for semesters, I simply picked whatever classes looked interesting & sounded like they might be helpful in my “unknown” future. I wasn’t following any sort of guide or program & no one was helping me along the way.

(photo credit shoutout to one of my best friends Tiffany – we met in a digital photography class & have been friends ever since)

That fall semester of 2008, I was taking mostly digital photography classes. Knowing that I potentially wanted to do a Disney College Program Internship in the Spring of 2009, I didn’t want to just register for classes online (like I did every other semester). I had questions: Could I register for spring semester classes, but withdrawal from them if I got the Internship? Could I take online classes while I was living in Florida? So the following week, on registration day, I drove up to the college in order to get my questions answered. Somehow, my assigned “advisor” also happened to be my Digital Photography Professor, so we already knew each other.

As I walked into the cafeteria, I was handed a catalog & class schedule. My first question was about withdrawing from classes if I got an internship, and the lady who was checking everyone in & giving out the information said that as long as a student withdrew within the first 2 weeks of class, a full refund would be given.

That question out of the way, I went in to find my advisor. While some advisors had a line of students waiting to talk to them, mine was sitting at an empty table. I walked right over, sat down, and began to explain what I wanted to do.

He stopped me, “Before you go off explaining all these things, let’s begin by taking a look at your transcript.”

I handed over the paper I had printed out. He glanced at it & asked, “What are all of these classes down here?” he motioned to the bottom of the page.

I explained that they were all the “random” classes I had taken my first few semesters when I was just taking classes for dual high school & college credit. Most of them fell under a “business” heading.

“I don’t know much about the business programs the school offers, but it looks like you probably have enough classes here for a certificate of some sort. You’ll have to look it up in the catalog to see – you might only be one or two classes short of having it.” He paused, studying my transcript, and then went on, “Don’t waste these classes! You’ve completed them & paid for them, you might as well take the missing class or two & get something to show for your time & money.”

Of course, while we were sitting there talking, a line began to form behind me – where had all these people come from all of a sudden? He went on to further explain what I needed to do if I wanted to pursue a degree in photography or multimedia, and suggested I go sit down, take a look through the catalog & class schedule, and see what I could come up with.

I moved out into the lounge and found an empty table to sit down at. I spread out all of my paperwork & began to look into the requirements for a certificate (whatever that was). Sure enough, my advisor was correct, I was missing two classes from completing what was called an “Office Technology Certificate”: Office Procedures & Powerpoint. I opened up the schedule and looked for online courses first & to my excitement, both classes were offered online.

Which meant that no matter what, if I was in Florida or Pennsylvania or wherever, I would graduate in the spring with something.

I then flipped over to the Photography program and picked 3 classes that looked interesting and that my advisor had suggested as being “next steps”. I wrote everything down on a class schedule & headed back into the cafeteria to talk to my advisor again.

Thankfully, the long line of students had almost completely cleared out & I was quickly sitting back in front of him again. I explained my findings on the certificate & then asked my online class question: “I know that WCCC likes to charge people extra money if they aren’t physically living in Westmoreland County & taking classes – but I want to apply for this internship & was hoping to, at the very least, complete the certificate next semester.”

He responded that I shouldn’t see any additional fees, but then asked for clarification: “Wait, what internship are you applying for?”

I told him that I was looking into the Disney College Program.

He slowly sat back in his seat, “You aren’t eligible for that.”

“What?” I was so confused – why wouldn’t I be?

He sat back forward & flipped to the back of the college class catalog. There it listed the requirements of a student being approved internship credit as needing at least 30 credits in their declared major. “And how many photography credits do you have?” he asked redundantly.

“Not 30,” I said.

“So, you aren’t eligible to do an internship then.” He sat back in his seat again.

“But,” I was so confused, “I have over 30 credits to my name -”

He cut me off, shaking his head, “It doesn’t matter. Those other credits aren’t in your declared major, so they don’t count.”

I was stunned. Deflated. And terribly confused. I had been taking college classes for almost 3 years at this point (part-time) and no one had ever sat me down & explained any of this.

And that’s when the lightbulb went off behind his eyes, “But wait, if you do this Office Technology thing, hold on.” And with that, he got up and left.

Not sure what was going on, but hoping that some loophole had been found, I waited. A few minutes later, he returned with one of the Deans. He handed him my transcript and explained that I wanted to apply for the Disney College Program. “Would she be eligible?” he asked.

The Dean looked at my paperwork and after a few moments, nodded his head, “Yes, if she would declare a dual major: Photography & Office Technology, then it’ll work out. She has the credits in the Office Technology program.”

I could hardly believe it. I agreed that that was what I wanted to do, I registered for my spring classes, and on my way out of the college, I stopped into the main office to pick up paperwork to graduate with an Office Technology Certificate in the spring. I felt like I learned more in those 45 minutes than I’d learned in almost 3 years of classes.

And now, with the doors officially opened for me to apply for the Disney College Program, I could attend the presentation in just a few days to learn more and begin the application process.

And so the end of October loomed & the beginning of November crept up. My days were filled with college, working at KFC, practicing for Derrick’s upcoming concerts, and daydreams of working at Disney World.

On the other end of the state, Derrick was feeling the pressure of his last semester of school squeezing in on him. Our phone calls got shorter as he needed more time to organize his senior projects, record his demo, finish papers, study for exams, prepare for his upcoming concerts, work, and oh yes – sleep. I wanted to be supportive, so I offered to proof his papers for him (which I found I actually really enjoyed). I also did my best to encourage him to take care of himself, I’d write him little emails & end them with: “Go get some sleep, Derrick!”

By the beginning of November, we had ironed out (as best we could long distance) the layout of his upcoming concerts that I would be accompanying him for. Derrick revised some of the music I’d be playing for him & transposed other pieces so they’d be easier to sing. Digital files of sheet music “flew” back & forth between us (technology, gotta love it!).

And then suddenly, it was November 12. My alarm went off at 5:30am, but I was already awake, so excited for the day ahead. In just a matter of hours, I was going to actually, physically, see Derrick again!

It was still dark when I loaded my suitcase into my little red car & made the familiar drive out to Latrobe. I parked & lugged my bag up the train station steps & waited. I was early, but as the time for the train to arrive got closer, two other passengers made their way up onto the platform. Having never traveled by train before, I was a combination of excited & nervous.

Right on time, the train pulled into the station and I walked down to the car that opened up for us to get on. I handed over my tickets, sat down in an empty row with my suitcase at my feet, and attempted to breathe as the train slowly took off down the tracks.

I was completely enamored with train-travel. I loved being able to sit right next to the big window & watch the countryside fly by. The train would stop every so often in little towns & I’d watch people scurry on and off the train – it was all simply fascinating. I had brought a book to occupy myself during my 5-hour trip, but it sat untouched in my suitcase.

The 5 hours flew by & suddenly, we were at my stop: Valley Forge. I dragged my suitcase down the hall & a kind gentleman offered to carry it down the narrow steps into the station for me. I followed him & my suitcase down the stairs and as I smiled & thanked him, I caught sight of my person. The train station wasn’t that busy (not as empty as the one I’d left either), but Derrick stuck out like a sore thumb. I think my eyes would have found him, even if there were a million people crowding the train station platform.

..Part 15 coming soon!