Working at Disney has been a lifelong dream for Madeleine R. Comeaux. UL Lafayette helped her achieve that dream.
杏吧专区淎fter about a year at UL Lafayette, I knew that hospitality management and my Disney dream were a perfect match,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淎s a 13-year-old, I never imagined that I would be living my dream and making a career out of it, but here I am living my dream and absolutely loving it.杏吧专区
Making Magic
Madeleine started her career through the in Fall 2016. After graduation, she returned for the Spring 2019 program as a front desk concierge, an experience that allowed her to become a guest relations hostess at the Magic Kingdom at The Walt Disney World Resort. She started as a professional intern in Fall 2019 and stayed on as a full-time temporary assignment cast member.
杏吧专区淒uring my time as a guest relations hostess, I was suited in a fun plaid vest working in either City Hall, at Park Entry, or at the Guest Relations Window outside of the Magic Kingdom,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淲e do a myriad of things, from selling tickets, to itinerary planning, to service recovery.
杏吧专区淲orking in hospitality, you have the opportunity to 杏吧专区榤ake magic,杏吧专区 as it is often coined when working for The Walt Disney Company,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淎s hospitality management professionals, it is our job to create an experience for our guests and it is our responsibility to make things right when we fall short in our promise,杏吧专区 she explained.
Working with people and creating experiences for them is an extremely rewarding career for Madeleine. Sometimes there are challenges, but she sees these as opportunities for growth.
杏吧专区淭here are moments I will never forget, like a mother bowing her head to cry tears of gratitude,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淭hen after being sent on her way to enjoy her renewed day, being so excited to point to me from across the way to her daughter to say, 杏吧专区楾hat is the lady who helped us!杏吧专区 as she continues to mouth the words 杏吧专区榯hank you杏吧专区 from across the room,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淚 receive a fair mix of it all,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淕uests will often say, 杏吧专区業 don杏吧专区檛 know how you deal with people like us all day,杏吧专区 but honestly this is my passion. I like to help people enjoy their day.杏吧专区
Learning the Importance of Teamwork
Madeleine杏吧专区檚 experiences at UL Lafayette prepared her to work in guest services.
杏吧专区淭he number one thing that I learned through our hospitality program at UL Lafayette is the importance of each and every member on a team and how everyone杏吧专区檚 job, no matter how big or small, makes a difference in running a successful operation,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淩unning an operation is about more than just being nice to the guest and knowing how to recover their experience,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚t is about ensuring that your fellow cast/team members are taken care of, it is about ensuring that your facility is in operative condition.
杏吧专区淚t is knowing who to call when an air conditioning unit is no longer working or appreciating your dishwashers in the kitchen who are just as vital to your operation as the servers who are interacting with the guests,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淗ospitality management is not only about how you treat your guests but about how you treat the people that you work with,杏吧专区 she said.
Through her courses, Madeleine got a lot of hands-on experience. One of the capstone courses in the Department of Management required her to run a restaurant with her classmates at .
杏吧专区淭hrough courses leading up to this one, we spend time crafting our menu, finding recipes, and portioning out food costs,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淎fter all is said and done, we have a course devoted to bringing those plans to life and running a real restaurant.
杏吧专区淲e rotate through the different restaurant positions,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淲e each take a turn at being the managers, the cooks, the servers, and the dishwashers. It was humbling in many ways to be able to experience all roles within a kitchen and experience how each role brings value and importance to an operation.杏吧专区
While her passion lies outside of food service, this experience still taught her valuable lessons about hospitality.
杏吧专区淲e will be challenged in our careers to do things that we may not think we are capable of doing, but that should never be the reason that we shy away from challenging ourselves to grow,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淚 currently work for a company that is rich in opportunity, but sometimes heading those opportunities means stepping outside your comfort zone,杏吧专区 she said.
Flexibility in Changing Circumstances
Due to COVID-19, Madeleine is now temporarily working in merchandising at World of Disney at Disney Springs. While her passion lies in guest services, she knows how significant her flexibility is under changing circumstances.
杏吧专区淭he plans I had for today are not what they were a few months ago,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淭hat is something that everyone can agree on, given the current times.
杏吧专区淩ight now I am embracing every moment that I have at World of Disney as a merchandise hostess,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚t is not where I expected to be when I created my short-term goals back in January, but it is where I am needed for this season of life that I am in and I have no doubt it will only help me in achieving my long term goals.杏吧专区
With goals of getting back to guest relations 杏吧专区 and working her way to a leadership position 杏吧专区 Madeleine finds the opportunity to grow in every situation thrown at her.
杏吧专区淩ight now I have my eyes set on one day becoming a guest experience manager, but the sky is the limit in terms of where I am willing to grow once I reach my potential within leadership,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淭hrough being flexible under the circumstances of the times, through building relationships with others in my career network, and through being the best cast member that I know how to be, one day I will achieve my long-term goals within leadership,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淓very opportunity encountered along the way is merely an opportunity to grow and shape me for the leader I will someday become,杏吧专区 she said.
