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Get Close to the Magic!

At this point, our Admission Blog has provided you with insight into all things Oxy. Living on campus, eating on campus, activities on campus, working on campus . . . but now it’s time to talk about my favorite off-campus activity, and what is probably the most famous and alluring SoCal attraction there is: Disneyland.

Being a SoCal native, Disneyland and I have been in a deep, committed relationship for over 20 years now. I started off with the normal childhood indoctrination via Disney movies and sporadic trips to Disneyland, but, as I got older, the obsession grew out of control. When my friends at Oxy went abroad during our junior year, I opted to take a semester off to participate in the Disney College Program, a paid internship where you work at Disneyland, thus fulfilling my life goal of becoming part of the magic. Lucky for me, I never had to stop working for “the mouse”. I returned to Oxy as a recruiter for the “DCP” and plan on working for Disney for as long as I can!

Whether or not you grew up near Disneyland, we all know about it, and I’d wager to say we all love it in some way or another. When I was applying to college, proximity to Disneyland definitely made Oxy look really attractive (as did its dedication to a well-rounded education and vivacious campus life, of course!). And I know I made a good choice because while I have been working on my education, I have also been able to plant the seeds for a future career with a company I love. Even if you don’t strongly desire to work for Disney one day, being so close to Disneyland is still amazing and allows for activities that most schools in the country don’t have access to. I know a lot of students here have annual passes to Disneyland which makes for spontaneous trips to Anaheim (only 40 minutes away) for half-days at the park or crazy nights at California Adventure’s Alice in Wonderland-themed “club”, The Mad T Party.

In fact, just this past weekend I visited Disneyland to see their new Christmas decorations (and to celebrate Mickey’s 84^th birthday!). I was only at the park for about five hours, but that’s the beauty of being so close! There is less pressure to do everything in one day when you know you’ll be back in three weeks or less.

So, to anyone who is on the fence about Occidental as their future college, this about this: churros could be a staple in your weekly diet, Mickey’s Soundsational Parade could be your new favorite (TV) show, and the Monorail could become your most used form of transportation. Isn’t that the dream?