Since 2018, Disney Aspire has helped employees and cast members achieve their education and career dreams. The most comprehensive education investment program of its kind, Disney Aspire offers more than 100 varying programs at 10+ educational institutions nationwide, including its newest addition Johnson & Wales University and its first in-network HBCU, North Carolina A&T.
Disney Aspire is so much more than a means to education for the more than 13,000 employees and cast members currently enrolled. It’s also an investment in their futures, opening up the door to explore endless opportunities for career mobility at The Walt Disney Company and beyond.
Today marks an especially magical milestone: we’re celebrating our 1000th Disney Aspire participant to have been promoted this fiscal year alone. From Oct. 2021 through now, more than 1,000 hourly employees and cast members have put their career #DreamsWithinReach with the help of Disney Aspire.
“Disney Aspire created the opportunity to progress further in my education than I ever thought would be possible,” said Autumn Armistead, who’s currently enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University through Disney Aspire, earning her M.S. in Human Resource Management. She was also recently promoted to a talent acquisition specialist role in casting services. “My peers want to know how I have progressed to where I am today, and I can’t tell my story without including Disney Aspire. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to take my development into my own hands.”
For graduate Crystal Brown of Walt Disney World Resort, it meant progressing from an hourly to a leadership role in her current housekeeping line of business. And she doesn’t plan on stopping there. “Being an alumnus of Disney Aspire means a chance at more opportunities to come my way,” she says.
“Disney Aspire is an amazing program that offers the chance at an education for people who may not have been able to do so previously,” said current student Chris Magallanes. He’s earning a degree in Graphic Design from Bellevue University, and was recently promoted into a guest correspondence associate role at Disneyland Resort from operations. “Being given this type of opportunity from the company is amazing.”
Join us in congratulating Crystal, Autumn, Chris and all of our recently promoted Disney Aspire participants for chasing their dreams and turning them into a reality.
To learn more about Disney Aspire, visit aspire.disney.com.
