Hey everyone. Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. I came across a few busy weeks with work, online classes through LTU, and fighting off a sickness that swept through our apartment!
I've been thinking of what to post next. I was thinking and am grateful for the preperation that LTU provided for me to make the transition into a real world scenario. (LTU has not asked me to put this, so trust me when I tell you it's genuine). I'm a student and I've been through most of the classes in the curriculum now and I understand the "doubts" that architecture students might have when it comes to certain classes. From my experience at Disney so far... here are my tips.
1- Pay attention and put a good effort into actually learning what happens in Building Systems. There is such a strong emphasis on studios in school that other classes like Building Systems and Structures get put back and never fully focused on. I'd be willing to say that a solid 60% of my work here so far has been related to building systems. I'm going throw Environmental Systems into this discussion too. It's not that I'm performing and using the information learned in the class directly as of yet, but I am dealing with the people who do on a daily basis. Just the other day, I sat down and talked through a psychrometrics problem with one of the mechanical engineering interns. If I had put Enviro on the back burner like I feel a lot of students do, I would not be as valuable when working with the engineers.
2- Don't think I'm bashing studios up above! ha ha. They were important and essential in developing the skills that I am using in the office. A BIG tip about studios... learn 3D modeling and learn it well. You will become a valuable asset to an office if you are efficient and capable of doing it. For example, there is another architecture intern who I work with in the office. I have not seen anyone except her and I do any 3D modeling since I've been here. I've had a few small projects creating 3D diagrams for installation of certain systems and actually just started a 3D model for an attraction that I would be willing to bet almost everyone is familiar with! I'm pretty excited about the project and really enjoying it. The reason for this tip... I have 5 work days to complete the model while keeping up on the other work I have to do as well! If I had not pushed to learn 3D CAD in school, I would not have been able to take on this project and Disney would likely have had to outsource the project and pay quite a bit more for a final product.
Those are my two big pieces of advice of how school relates to the real world and how I've witnessed them already. I'm sure there is MUCH more to come, but I am appreciating the technical background that LTU provides to us in our classes because that is ultimately what I'm dealing with on a day to day basis.
I think I'll leave it at that for now. As mentioned before, if you have any questions or things you'd like me to talk about... leave a comment and I'll do my best to incorporate it in an upcoming post!
Until next time...
PS- A cold front came through. I think the high so far has been 65 or so. It was still well into the 90's all last week!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Space Mountain, Marvel, and Fantasyland!
I said I'd talk about the "Cast Member" activities that Housing sets up at some point here. It's not quite a "Housing" activity, but more a perk of the job, but I got to tour Space Mountain the other day. For those who don't know, Space Mountain has been ungoing renovations for the past year or so. It is scheduled to re-open again in November. One of the architect's in the office set up a tour for the interns before they started running cars through the ride again. It was really interesting. As seen above, we got to go on top of the building. It's quite the view of Magic Kingdom! The reason for this story... although I'm learning A LOT on the architectural end of things here at Disney, the people in the office are really good about getting me out and showing me things in the parks that you don't get to see as a guest.
If you've been following the news at all, you've probably seen Disney! We recently acquired Marvel comics. Disney announced that they will be expanding Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom (anticipated to be done in 2013). If you haven't read about it... go google "disney fantasyland". There are some good articles and renderings of what the additions are going to look like. Another perk of the internship... I've actually known about the expansion for a few weeks. I even got to take a peek at the architectural drawings for the announced Little Mermaid ride. Nothing set in stone, but it's a possibility I will start working on some projects for the new Fantasyland before my internship is up here!
Well, that's about all I have for now. I thought I'd take some time to fill you in on what's happening at Disney from a companywide perspective. If you're reading this and have a question about something related to the internship, feel free to post a comment. I would be more than happy to write on some of the questions that people have.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Almost 2 weeks
Well... I'm nearly two weeks in and I have to say I am having a great time. I really enjoy going to work and the people I'm working with. I'm a part of numerous projects already (7 sounds about right?) and they're not your typical projects. Working for Disney means you could be doing anything from a back-of-the-property facility building ("back-stage") to the biggest attraction at one of the parks ("on-stage"). I'm not at liberty to say what projects I'm working on... but if you look at the spectrum I just mentioned, I can say I'm working on projects at both ends. :)
I'm starting to get the big picture in how the office works. In the first week, I was assigned a mentor to help me out in the office. He just passed his licensing exams and is extremely knowledgable in both architecture and how the office is run. The mentor is extremely helpful in helping make the transition into the office smooth. The coolest part of the whole experience is that even though I'm working closest with my mentor at the moment, everyone in the office is just as willing to help.
Piece of advice No. 2... ASK QUESTIONS. I know what you might be thinking: "Everyone says that" and "You're only saying that because you're supposed to". No one is paying me to write this. I've found that asking questions has increased my understanding of the office and how Disney carries out its day-to-day architecture practices. I didn't ask as many questions in the beginning. I started asking more this second week and can honestly say that I've learned SO much more than I did in the first week (And in the first week, I learned A LOT! ha ha).
I'm feeling pretty settled into the whole housing thing. I hang out with my roomates most nights going to the parks, going out to eat, or just hanging out at the apartment. I can't say that Florida feels like home yet, but I can say that I don't feel like I'm just on vacation and I'll be coming home in a week or so.
Overall experience thus far... EXTREMELY positive. :)
Until next time...
I'm starting to get the big picture in how the office works. In the first week, I was assigned a mentor to help me out in the office. He just passed his licensing exams and is extremely knowledgable in both architecture and how the office is run. The mentor is extremely helpful in helping make the transition into the office smooth. The coolest part of the whole experience is that even though I'm working closest with my mentor at the moment, everyone in the office is just as willing to help.
Piece of advice No. 2... ASK QUESTIONS. I know what you might be thinking: "Everyone says that" and "You're only saying that because you're supposed to". No one is paying me to write this. I've found that asking questions has increased my understanding of the office and how Disney carries out its day-to-day architecture practices. I didn't ask as many questions in the beginning. I started asking more this second week and can honestly say that I've learned SO much more than I did in the first week (And in the first week, I learned A LOT! ha ha).
I'm feeling pretty settled into the whole housing thing. I hang out with my roomates most nights going to the parks, going out to eat, or just hanging out at the apartment. I can't say that Florida feels like home yet, but I can say that I don't feel like I'm just on vacation and I'll be coming home in a week or so.
Overall experience thus far... EXTREMELY positive. :)
Until next time...
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Long Time Reader... First Time Blogger
Hello!
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Andrew Aulerich. I spent the past 4 years at Lawrence Tech in the Architecture program and recently received a position with the Walt Disney Company as a Professional Intern for Architecture. I have been asked to blog about my experience from the administration at LTU for students back on campus. I am more than honored to do so and share some of my experiences that I encounter down here at Disney.
I'm new at this whole blogging thing, so bear with me as I attempt to work it out. I want you to take my experiences as "real" and not some candy-coated version of what's really happening. I'm extremely excited at the oppurtunity I've been given. I've met a lot of people down here already who have worked for Disney in the College Program and Professional Internships and I have heard nothing but AMAZING things about both. Phrases such as "time of my life" and "best 4 months I've ever had" have been heard on multiple occasions already. So far, I'd have to agree with them!
I drove down to Disney from the Detroit area. Piece of advice No. 1... DON'T MAKE THE DRIVE ALONE! Driving from Detroit to Orlando by yourself is probably one of the most mind-numbing experiences I've ever encountered! ha ha ha. When I drive back home in December, I'm flying someone down to drive back up with me. Any takers? :) (Another perk of the internship... Disney covers the relocation costs so you don't need to worry about the money it takes to get to Orlando).
It's been pretty awesome down here so far. The stereotypical "boring" checkin procedures weren't bad at all! I got to see a lot of the Disney property and shot through 3 different checkpoints in less than 3 hours. The weather is nothing short of HOT! I'm not too excited about that part yet, but by the time November roles around and I'm still rockin' my shorts... I will be very happy!
The living is extremely similar to housing on campus. Professional Interns have the oppurtunity to live in apartments owned by Disney (which are nice and VERY affordable for all that they include). I live with 5 other guys in a 3 bedroom apartment. It's cool because we're from all over the country: Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, South Carolina, and Florida. Apartments include everything you need... furniture, kitchen equipment, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, all utilities, internet, cable... you name it!
Perks to the internship: FREE ACCESS TO THE DISNEY PARKS! I've been here 3 days and have been to Epcot and am going to Animal Kingdom here in a little bit. Free admission, parking, and discounts on food and merchandise. There are a lot of cast-member exclusive oppurtunities and I hear they're very impressive (FYI... you are not an "employee" at Disney, you are a "cast-member"). I haven't experienced any yet, but I'll make sure to fill you in when I do.
Thanks for reading. I wanted to throw out the general information in this post so you have an idea of what's going on down here. I'm sure future posts won't be as "scattered" and more focused on different aspects of the internship. I start the actual internship tomorrow!
Until next time...
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Andrew Aulerich. I spent the past 4 years at Lawrence Tech in the Architecture program and recently received a position with the Walt Disney Company as a Professional Intern for Architecture. I have been asked to blog about my experience from the administration at LTU for students back on campus. I am more than honored to do so and share some of my experiences that I encounter down here at Disney.
I'm new at this whole blogging thing, so bear with me as I attempt to work it out. I want you to take my experiences as "real" and not some candy-coated version of what's really happening. I'm extremely excited at the oppurtunity I've been given. I've met a lot of people down here already who have worked for Disney in the College Program and Professional Internships and I have heard nothing but AMAZING things about both. Phrases such as "time of my life" and "best 4 months I've ever had" have been heard on multiple occasions already. So far, I'd have to agree with them!
I drove down to Disney from the Detroit area. Piece of advice No. 1... DON'T MAKE THE DRIVE ALONE! Driving from Detroit to Orlando by yourself is probably one of the most mind-numbing experiences I've ever encountered! ha ha ha. When I drive back home in December, I'm flying someone down to drive back up with me. Any takers? :) (Another perk of the internship... Disney covers the relocation costs so you don't need to worry about the money it takes to get to Orlando).
It's been pretty awesome down here so far. The stereotypical "boring" checkin procedures weren't bad at all! I got to see a lot of the Disney property and shot through 3 different checkpoints in less than 3 hours. The weather is nothing short of HOT! I'm not too excited about that part yet, but by the time November roles around and I'm still rockin' my shorts... I will be very happy!
The living is extremely similar to housing on campus. Professional Interns have the oppurtunity to live in apartments owned by Disney (which are nice and VERY affordable for all that they include). I live with 5 other guys in a 3 bedroom apartment. It's cool because we're from all over the country: Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, South Carolina, and Florida. Apartments include everything you need... furniture, kitchen equipment, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, all utilities, internet, cable... you name it!
Perks to the internship: FREE ACCESS TO THE DISNEY PARKS! I've been here 3 days and have been to Epcot and am going to Animal Kingdom here in a little bit. Free admission, parking, and discounts on food and merchandise. There are a lot of cast-member exclusive oppurtunities and I hear they're very impressive (FYI... you are not an "employee" at Disney, you are a "cast-member"). I haven't experienced any yet, but I'll make sure to fill you in when I do.
Thanks for reading. I wanted to throw out the general information in this post so you have an idea of what's going on down here. I'm sure future posts won't be as "scattered" and more focused on different aspects of the internship. I start the actual internship tomorrow!
Until next time...
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