Education is an important theme here at Disney, whether its developing educational products, supporting education-based nonprofits or, even, helping employees pursue higher education.
I recently got a chance to connect with Courtney Cappa, a senior manager in Disney’s internal audit group, who is utilizing the company’s education reimbursement program to pursue a masters in business administration (MBA) from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Anderson School of Management.
Courtney shares, “As I’ve thought about my career development, I always believed that it would be a good idea to pursue an MBA. While looking at my options, it was incredible to hear that Disney would help me pay for a degree. With the high cost of education, its not something I could have done on my own.”
Education reimbursement is available to most full-time employees and covers some or all education costs, depending on where the employee attends school. Disney’s education reimbursement program is a win-win, benefiting both the employee and the company.
“The MBA program has given me a lot of new analytical and organizational skills that I‘ve already put to use. Project management is a big part of my role and I’ve found that oftentimes I can take leadership concepts from a class and apply them a week later.”
In her role, Courtney travels the world working on a variety of projects that support the company’s media networks – including ABC, ESPN and Disney Channel.
“Balancing work and school keeps me busy, but I love it. My leaders have been supportive from the day I decided to pursue the degree, and that’s something I’ve really appreciated.”
Courtney graduates from the three-year program next year.
“The education reimbursement program makes me feel good about working for The Walt Disney Company – that the company is looking out for my personal interests. I love what I do here, and my hope is that this degree will help me to pursue new opportunities at Disney in the future.”
As Courtney and I wrapped up our conversation she wanted to add just one last thing, “Go Bruins!”