Hourly workers set goals, free education
Donna Sgro sells merchandise at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and reminds herself dreams don’t have an expiration date. At age 37, her second chance arrived to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
Craig Plummer takes calls at Disney’s reservation center while he plots to get his MBA. Don’t tell Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger, but Plummer’s dream job is to run Disney someday.
They are among the first Disney employees taking advantage of a new program where their tuition will be paid upfront by Walt Disney Co and their expenses, including books, reimbursed.
“There are ten of thousands of these stories,” said Chris Trout, Walt Disney Co’s vice president of learning and development.
“It is great news for workers and students alike. We're thrilled to see progressive employers standing up and supporting their workforce.” Evie Cummings, an assistant provost and the director of University of Florida Online, one of the 10 schools where Disney employees can go
“There are ten thousands of these dreams.”
More than 80,000 Walt Disney Co. hourly full-time and part-time employees are eligible as Disney has committed to spending $150 million over five years educate its workforce under the new program called Disney Aspire, Trout said.
Hundreds of Disney employees arrived at a twoday expo Friday where they could ask questions about the program and pick up new backpacks. Some already signed up for classes; their books on their way.
Laughing, Sgro, of Kissimmee, admitted she felt like a child again. Her mother went school-supply shopping for her and picked out a pencil case with Minnie Mouse on it.
Going back to school, she said, “has always been a thought on my mind, but finances never connected.”
Disney’s financial assistance was a “Godsend,” she said.
Educators praised the Disney program.
“It is great news for workers and students alike,” said Evie Cummings, an assistant provost and the director of University of Florida Online, one of the 10 schools where Disney employees can go. “We're thrilled to see progressive employers standing up and supporting their workforce.”
But Disney workers don’t automatically become Gators.
They must apply first to get accepted, and UF Online holds the same competitive admission standards as its Gainesville main campus, a preeminent, prestigious school in the state. A student off to college for the first time typically needs at least a 3.8 GPA from high school to get accepted.
“We got into it with an understanding (with) Disney, we're not going to likely admit the majority of their workforce,” Cummings said.
UF Online, which denies about 60 percent of applicants, offers flexible classes — but not easier. “We were not launched to become the University of Phoenix,” Cummings said.
So far, only one Disney employee has applied, Cummings said Thursday as the Oct. 1 deadline was ticking for the spring semester although Cummings said she hopes more apply last minute.
However, other schools in Disney Aspire aren’t as tough for their admission requirements. In fact, they may not have any, said Zachary Rowe, director of strategic partnership at Guild Education, a Denver company administering Disney Aspire that also has worked similarly with Walmart.
Disney intentionally wants to make education more accessible so some schools — like Nebraska’s Bellevue University and Delaware’s Wilmington University, two private nonprofit schools that offer fully online degrees — will accept all students with high school diplomas, Rowe said.
Other programs let Disney workers pursue a high school diploma or GED as well as vocational training or learn English as a second language, a Disney spokeswoman said.
Starting in January, another option for Disney workers will be Valencia College, which will soon have nine campuses in Orange and Osceola counties and has been recognized as one of top community colleges in the nation.
Students can study in programs such as culinary arts, hospitality, digital media technology, film production or get an associate’s degree in liberal arts to transfer to a four-year university, according to Guild Education.
“We’re ready for it. We think it’s great,” said Joe Battista, Valencia’s vice president overseeing continuing education.
Cost is no longer a barrier for Disney workers to get an education. What also helps them as they juggle busy work schedules and the challenges of life is the choice of taking online or in-person classes, he said.
And if students excel at Valencia, earning good grades, they could potentially transfer their credits to UF Online and finish a bachelor’s degree, Cummings said.
Plummer, 47, of Winter Park, wouldn’t need to look deep inside for his motivation at Wilmington University.
He’s competitive, a man 25 years in the U.S. Navy, after all. He wanted a better GPA than his son, Quentin, who is a sophomore at Georgia Tech University.
Sgro felt fear. Could she go back to school after all these years?
She was 22 when her mother became sick with kidney cancer. Family came first. Sgro finished her associate’s degree but never went further in school.
Now, she plans to study adolescent psychology with the goal of opening a private practice. Classes start next month at Brandman University
“It a dream of mine I’ve always wanted,” Sgro said.