Gina Winchester

Gina Winchester, ’87 ’90 assistant director/co-op coordinator of MSU Career Services, has been appointed to the National Advisory Board for the Walt Disney World College Program.

Winchester will serve a four-year term with 20 other members from universities across the country including Brigham Young, Mississippi State and Nassau Community College in Garden City, N.Y.

During Winchester’s tenure with MSU she has ushered in innovate opportunities, including co-op and internship programs, with Disney’s summer recruitment program for MSU’s students. “This is an overwhelming honor to be selected for the advisory committee with other university presidents, administrators and career service professionals,” she said. “I look forward to the challenge of working with our students and the recruiting staff at Walt Disney. It will benefit all our students here at Murray.”

Since 1985 more than 200 MSU students have participated in the Disney college program. The first students who participated were the late Lynda Byrd, a 1986 marketing major, Whitney Taylor, ’87 ’88, a consultant in strategic sourcing and supply team management, and William P’Pool, ’87 chief legal counsel for Mead Johnson & Compnay, a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

Taylor, a former 15-year employee with Disney, said she contacted Disney while a student and after many attempts they agreed to travel to MSU’s campus. “My former years with Disney provided a solid foundation for my professional career,” she said. “Today when working with different corporations a main focus is my experience with Disney. It has opened many doors for me with employers.”

P’Pool, who highly recommends the Disney program for college students, said his experience provided him with life-long invaluable professional experience. “The Disney program created some of the best times of my life and broadened my perspective of the world,” he said. “Being a part of this program provided a personal and professional stepping stone that proved to be highly valuable to potential employees.”

Winchester works with numerous cooperative education/programs that provide MSU students with credit toward graduation and invaluable experience that enhances their resumes. “MSU is now considered one of the top 12 recruiting universities in the country by the Walt Disney World Company,” she said. “We actually average approximately 30 students being selected each semester to participate in the Walt Disney College program.”

Additionally, Winchester said approximately 20 students will complete the program.

Implemented in 1980, The Walt Disney World Resort and MSU’s Career Services offices support the program, hiring and recruiting 250 students, who lived off property during the summer. The program has also expanded into professional internships for returning cast members and a CareerStart Program for high school students.