Cloverdale theater major headed to Disneyland’s Disney College Program

Lyssa Conquest is passionate about art and theater, so when she found out she had been accepted into the Disney College Program at Disneyland, she was over the moon with excitement.

Currently a theater arts major at Santa Rosa Junior College, the 22-year old Cloverdale native will leave shortly after finals for Southern California, checking in on June 9 for the seven-month program.

The Disney College Program recruits students ages 18 years and older for a semester-long paid internship program working at either the Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort. Participants get on-the-job experience in that unique entertainment world, while expanding their knowledge in a classroom with students from all over.

“I’m so excited, very happy, anxious and nervous, all at the same time,” she said. “I want to learn how Disney does entertainment because they do it so well. I can’t wait to have this new experience under my belt.”

While at Cloverdale High School, she was in the spring plays during her junior and senior years. Required academic classes during the same class period prevented Conquest from taking the actual theater class as an elective.

Instructor Joe Dobbins suggested she consider volunteering at the Cloverdale Performing Arts Center. It was there she honed her behind-the-scenes skills, working on the lights and sound board, handling props, helping with costumes and serving as assistant stage manager. Her first show was “Winnie the Pooh” in 2012.

Since then, she has also done production work at the Raven theaters in both Healdsburg and Windsor, Actors’ Theater for Children and at SRJC where, during a production of “Mary Poppins,” she was in charge of the quick costume changes for the lead character.

Conquest first heard about the Disney College Program from a friend who applied several years ago. It took her until Jan. 12 of this year to decide the time was right to submit her own application. Within two hours of sending it off, she had a web interview, which resulted in her being scheduled for a 10 a.m. phone interview 10 days later.

“I tried to be so organized,” she recalls. “I studied possible interview questions, checked out potential work areas at Disneyland and had notes and answers written out so I wouldn’t forget what I wanted to say. I got up early, showered, ate breakfast and tried to relax.”

Then things started going wrong.

“First, a telemarketer called, and then my mom called to wish me luck. My boyfriend was sick and didn’t go to work, so he was in the room I had planned to use. To top it off, the phone connection was bad and the dogs started barking. I ended up having my phone interview in my mom’s bathroom.”

Worried that she had done poorly because she was so nervous and had asked the interviewer to repeat her questions several times, Conquest decided to not hold her breath that anything positive would result. Instead, she focused on her upcoming interview for a barista position at Plank Coffee.

Three weeks later, she found the acceptance letter in her email.

Conquest will find out at check in where she will be working at Disneyland, but says it really does not matter.

“I just want to give people the same kinds of experiences and happy memories I had there as a child. I’m also excited to be working there during Halloween and Christmas this year. I can hardly wait.”

At the end of the program, Conquest is hoping to either be hired by Disney or be offered a professional career-specific internship. Ideally, she would like to either work in their entertainment field or in their Imagineering Department, helping design and create the next show or parade.

For someone who has been to Disneyland more than 50 times since she was three, this opportunity is already feeling like a dream come true.