“Amber Earns her Ears” Review
“Amber Earns her Ears” follows the adventures of Amber
Sewell on her journey through the Disney College Program and the Career Start
program. (The Career Start program is essentially the same concept as the DCP,
the difference being that it is meant for high school graduates rather than
college students. The program was discontinued in 2010, likely to allow for
more students in the DCP instead.) Amber’s book is referred to a “secret cast
member diary,” and while I’m not sure I would call it secret, the term diary
definitely fits this description. In terms of Disney books written by Cast Members,
I think that “secret” often implies that the Cast Member has some weird desire
to expose horrible aspects of working for Disney, and making it seem like a way
worse job than it actually is. You can skim through the Disney book section of
Amazon and find countless books by former Cast Members devoted to exposing the
dark secrets of the Disney Company, as if the fact that they finished their job
alive was some major feat . Technically Amber’s book is “secret” because it’s
written like a diary, but it’s a refreshing take on how she is writing about
her own secrets rather than trying to make the company out to be some kind of
villain.
Another high point of Amber’s work is how it is literally
written like a diary, which makes it a very quick read. It reminded me of how
reading someone’s blog about the DCP would be, except you do not get stuck
having to click “older posts” every time you finish a chapter. Often times
while researching the DCP on my own, I have come across blogs that I have been
very interested in reading, however once the person is on the program they stop
writing. When this happens, I, as a reader feel like I’ve kind of wasted my
time. In these cases, I would have spent my whole summer following someone’s
planning process about the program, only to never fully hear about their actual
experience in the program as the blog is never updated once he or she is there.
For this reason, Amber’s book was also helpful because in purchasing a book you
know that you will actually be able to read about her whole journey.
I would recommend “Amber Earns her Ears,” to college
students even if they are on the fence about the program. I think a lot of what
Amber writes about could apply to college students in general who have never
lived on their own before. In my experience, it is difficult to find a book
geared towards college freshmen that students actually want to read. Who wants
to read about some star football player/Business major’s transition to college
if it’s not something you can relate to? Amber’s experience of finding her
roommates on Facebook, and living away from home with them for the first time
would be relatable to any student living away from home. She brings up roommate
disputes and how they were dealt with, and little things she learned living
away from her parents. Because of this, I would recommend the book to anyone
considering the program, even if only as a slight possibility of maybe applying
sometime in the distant future, as her experience living on her own is
relatable to most college students.
From what she has written about herself, I would also say
that Amber comes off as a very relatable person. Many students are nervous and
shy about starting new experiences, especially in a situation like moving to
college or the DCP where they are living on their own for the first time. Amber
mentions throughout the work that she was sort of an introvert who kept to
herself a bit before embarking on her programs, and how working in Disney
changed her for the better. This personality trait is seldom mentioned in
autobiographical works, especially by young people—probably for the fear of
coming across as weak or lacking self-esteem. Amber’s acknowledgement of her
shyness makes her seem more real and relatable, even if all you’ve heard of her
is from the book.
My only gripe about the book is the lack of description
of other jobs available in the DCP, though this would in no way deter me from
purchasing the book. The book is excellent for information about the program in
general, however if you are really looking for insight into a particular role
you may not find it in this book. This doesn’t necessarily bother me, as I can
easily research experiences in different roles all over the internet, but this
is the same situation I mentioned about—that not everyone can relate to a
Business major for instance. At the same time however, Amber’s two roles, Quick
Service Food and Beverage, and Merchandise, are both very popular roles in the
DCP, and I’m sure there are tons of potential interns out there who are
planning on using those roles as their first choices.
Overall, I would highly recommend the book to anyone
interested in learning more about what it’s like to intern for Disney in the
DCP, or really just any college freshman looking for some light reading that
they can probably relate to. Another pro about the book is that it’s available
at Amazon and Barnes and Noble (and for the Kindle and Nook), and it’s pretty
affordable. (Or you could always ask for it as a Christmas gift.)
Picture of the Week:
This week's picture is this wonderful quality photo of myself and Theresa on Space Mountain from over the summer. How happy does the guy in front of me look? I think he kind of made the picture.
That's all I've got for now, applications should be coming out in about 66 days!
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